Touhou Tsugi Monogatari
by WriterRoxas
Summary: Sequel to Tsukuribanshi. Not long after the Scarlet Mist Incident, a mysterious trio makes their appearance - and chaotic intentions - known. Once again, it's up to Reimu and friends to resolve this incident... before the death toll rises.
1. Chapter 1   Savage Girl

The Forest of Magic was rather peaceful today. Its youkai inhabitants deciding not to cause trouble for passing humans or fairies (especially after that fiasco with the Scarlet Mist, in which two humans blew through the area to deal with it. No way was anyone risking an attack right now) and the skies were clear, blue and only slightly cloudy.

Humming merrily to herself, a brown haired girl traversed the forest aimlessly, lost in her own joyous thoughts. Anyone who recognised this girl would be hard pressed to believe she was borderline depressed only a few months ago. Ever since she had met with that shrine maiden who had overpowered her in battle, she seemed to find a new spark in her life.

Shujiko Ishi was approaching the Misty Lake, thinking of the story Reimu Hakurei had told her about how she and Marisa kicked some ass in that weird mansion across the lake. Apparently, a vampire girl lived there, and she caused the whole 'mist' incident just to walk around during the day. Seeing as the sun was completely blotted and threw everything in darkness, Shujiko wondered why the vampire didn't just sleep when the sun was out like a normal vampire?

Well, regardless, the whole thing was over and done with. Shujiko would have liked to tag along at least, but it seemed she simply wasn't important enough. Oh well, maybe she could at least find her own meaningless adventures?

Standing by the edge of the lake, Shujiko was barely aware of odd sounds coming from beyond the bushes to her right. Finally noting the disgusting slurping sounds, as well as highly audible chewing, Shujiko grimaced, wondering just who was eating so damn loudly.

_Such terrible manners... being in a forest doesn't excuse that. _Shujiko thought irritably, and approached the source of the noise, intent on educating the noisy eater on proper dinner etiquette.

That idea quickly left her mind when her eyes befell the sight before her. On the ground was a human male, his skin pale, eyes dull and blank. A figure was hunched over his stomach, where plenty of blood was quite visible, and if the gore was any indication, this human was the meal.

"What the hell...?" Shujiko gasped in revulsion. While youkai eating humans wasn't exactly unheard of, none of them devoured their meal in such a... barbarian manner! This was just plain sick.

The creature feasting on the human noticed Shujiko's presence, glancing over its shoulder at her. Like most youkai, she had mostly human features. Dark skin, pure, white hair reaching her hips, and wearing what looked like raggy pieces of cloth whose only purpose was to provide modesty, not comfort or pleasing appearance.

Her eyes, however, were a dark shade of yellow, bordering on gold, and her blood-stained teeth were ridiculously sharp, to the point where shredding her own gums must surely be a daily problem. With a lustful grin, the youkai rounded on Shujiko.

"Feed me? You, be my food?" She growled, and Shujiko immediately stepped back, ready to defend herself from this creature.

"Yeah, how about no?" Shujiko replied.

With a bark-like sound, the creature lunged.

* * *

><p><strong>Twenty Minutes Later<strong>

"I am STILL pissed off at that damn brat!" Reimu growled savagely as she swept her patio free of leaves. Genji simply made a 'Mm-hm' sound as he lay just inside the shrine. He had been listening to Reimu's whining about the most recent incident for about two days now.

"As if it were bad enough that she nearly commits genocide on all life..." Reimu said, practically swinging her broom with each sweep. "But to invite me back, throw me down into a basement, and make me deal with a girl that made Rena sane by comparison? What? Did she completely forget Marisa trashed her too?"

"As I recall, you were the one who actually fought this 'Scarlet Devil'," Genji muttered. "Marisa didn't progress past the library, for somewhat obvious reasons."

With more ill-tempered mutterings, Reimu finished sweeping and threw the broom to a wall, where it bounced quite some distance away from its designated resting place.

"God, I have had enough with giant mansions, technical families, and crazy basement-dwellers," Reimu growled. "The next time there's an incident with any of the above listed, I'm letting someone else deal with it."

As Reimu walked inside the shrine to make herself some lunch, Genji noticed a figure flying towards them. No doubt it was Shujiko, who had become a semi-regular visitor to the shrine (and yet, never had any donation money, much to Reimu's irritation). Although, something seemed off about her today...

As she finally neared the Shrine, Genji realised that she was hurt quite seriously. Her left arm was nearly torn free of her body, and her front was coated with blood.

"Lady Reimu! We'd better prepare first aid!" Genji called.

"Eh?" Reimu didn't pay too much attention as she poked her head out from the kitchen. "What is it now?"

"Shujiko is grievously wounded!"

"What are you talking about..." Reimu asked, then she noticed Shujiko for herself, and shock flitted across her face before she disappeared inside the kitchen once again, looking for the first-aid spellcards.

Shujiko touched down at the shrine's patio, stumbling a bit as she did so. Her expression was severely pained, her face pale. It was apparent that Shujiko was standing through a phenomenal exertion of her considerable will power.

"Mister Genji..." Shujiko gasped, a small smile forming on her face. "Sorry for the intrusion... I was looking for a place to rest for..."

Shujiko fell to her knees, panting heavily, her eyes unfocused. Reimu dashed to the youkai's side, a spell card in hand.

"What in the name of hell happened?" Reimu gasped in horror. She doubted the spell card would do anything to help. "_Uh, kaifuku shimasu!_"

A pale light emanated from the spellcard and washed over Shujiko. To Reimu's worry, it didn't seem to do anything.

"Don't worry... I'll heal..." Shujiko muttered. "...Eventually. Just gonna... sl..."

Shujiko fell forward, and Reimu hurriedly caught her before she slammed her face into the ground.

"This is most troubling..." Genji muttered. "Lady Reimu, come, let's bring her inside."

A few moments later, Reimu had lay Shujiko on her futon, and was tentatively removing the ruined clothing from the girl, trying to avoid irritating her injuries in any way.

"Wow, she got absolutely brutalised..." Reimu muttered in shock. "It's a miracle she even stopped bleeding."

"Whoever done this clearly wasn't using spellcard regulations." Genji noted with disgust. "I can't think of a creature that would harm another like this."

"You sure? Could'a been a feral youkai?" Reimu suggested as she hurried to the bathroom, pulling out a basin to fill with water.

Genji shook his head in wonder, unsure as to how a feral youkai would have appeared without warning. They usually left a trail of death in their wake...

Reimu returned with her basin of water, along with several cloths and towels, and cleaned Shujiko as best she could from all the blood. Genji lumbered to the patio, gazing at the direction Shujiko had arrived from, and he frowned slightly. "It appeared to have come from the Forest of Magic."

"Eh?" Reimu sounded worried as she finished wiping Shujiko's torso. "But... how could it be? It would've been known of ages ago, right?"

"Either way, it would be best to remain cautious," Genji replied. "We should warn Marisa and that doll girl as soon as possible, as well."

"I'll tell them once I'm finished here." Reimu said, getting to her feet and rushing to the kitchen, pulling bandages from her storage cupboards.

_Shujiko better wake up soon... _Reimu thought as she began to dress the youkai's wounds. _She should know just what attacked her..._

* * *

><p>"I think this is you being overconfident now," A young looking man said with a smirk. "There's a difference between fighting higher youkai... and her."<p>

"Hey, as long as I know exactly what I'm dealing with, there's no way I'll lose!" The girl replied confidently. At her side, the feral youkai was growling in disgust at the abundance of sunflowers.

Shaking his head and shrugging, the man led his group towards a mansion that towered in the distance. A large patio stretched out before the mansion, where a blonde girl seemed to be occupying herself by fighting imaginary enemies.

Swinging a scythe in swift, controlled strikes, the girl's skill with the weapon was certainly admirable, but she was deemed no threat by the group.

Noticing the three approaching the mansion, Elly immediately shifted to an authorative tone, glaring at the group.

"Hold it! What do you guys want h..." Elly noticed the feral-looking girl, noting the blood that covered her chin and what Elly assumed was some sort of shirt. A dangerous air emanated from the group and she was immediately on guard.

"We would like to have a word with your mistress," The man said pleasantly. With dark, slicked hair and an unusual choice of dress, a tuxedo, he immediately stood out, unless he was in the vicinity of feral youkai. "we have... important business."

Elly glared suspiciously at him, gripping her scythe tightly. "She's not here, come back never." Elly replied.

"Oh, don't be so cold!" The sharply dressed man said in mock anguish. "I'm sure your master wouldn't mind seeing us!"

"Break girl! Enter!" The feral youkai suggested enthusiastically, shooting Elly a chilling grin.

Elly stared uneasily at the feral creature, before turning back to the oddly dressed guy. "Yeah, after that horribly phrased statement, I'm just gonna eject you three from the premises."

Elly wound her arms back, the scythe positioned behind her, and swung. A magical projection of the scythe's blade flew for the group, who easily evaded.

"Don't bother! Fighting us would mean your death!" The girl yelled back. Her silver hair hid the right half of her face, and she was dressed in a white dress with a rather short skirt and an insane amount of red ribbons tied all over her body and hair.

Ignoring the girl's words, Elly lunged for the male, who smiled slightly at the charging gatekeeper.

"Come now, no need to fight!" The man said condescendingly, swiftly evading the strikes of Elly's scythe, and leaped high to avoid the danmaku she unleashed at point blank.

Before Elly could pursue, she sensed an attack from behind and immediately swung her body and scythe to meet the attack.

It was that feral girl, who had leaped towards Elly. She was slightly faster than the gatekeeper anticipated, as the creature had barely ducked the blade and grabbed the shaft of her scythe.

As the creature prepared to bite into Elly, she gritted her teeth and swung the scythe again. With a tremendous display of strength, she threw her scythe towards the sky, along with the feral girl.

Elly now rounded on the girl who may or may not have a ribbon fetish, who was smirking at Elly.

"You're not going to win, you know," She stated. "You've already lost your weapon, and haven't landed a single hit."

"Funny, I don't recall taking any damage either," Elly replied coldly. "Nor do I recall being at a disadvantage."

Elly swung her hands from side to side, creating a blanket of bullets that sailed towards the girl, who laughed as she evaded.

"Pathetic! Not even close to a threat!"

Meanwhile, Elly's scythe had begun its descent. The feral girl had dislodged herself from the weapon and was now charging for Elly again. Sensing the approach, Elly rounded on the feral youkai and thrust her hands forward, a torrent of bullets exploding from her palms to subdue the creature, before leaping and catching her scythe. Keeping elevation in the air, Elly shouldered the scythe and glared at her opponents.

"I could say the same to you!" Elly shouted to the ribbon-girl. "Three on one, and you've yet to threaten me in any way!"

The silver haired girl simply smirked. "Very well, you want a threat? Guess I'll start trying!"

With a burst of speed, the ribbon-girl shot towards Elly, who was taken aback by the speed increase. Flying back several paces, Elly again swung her scythe, intending to cut the girl, but she had already moved behind the gatekeeper. Before she could recover, the ribbon-girl struck Elly's neck in a quick chopping motion, then kicked her to the ground while she was stunned.

Barely a second after Elly hit the ground, the feral youkai pounced upon her, grinning sadistically as she lowered her face uncomfortbaly close to Elly's. The gatekeeper could smell the blood of pretty much everyone it had killed in the last few weeks, and she tried to hide her rising panic through a glare of loathing.

The ribbon-girl landed next to the two, and began to affectionately stroke the youkai's hair. "Aw, looks like you're screwed now. Too bad. What do you wanna do with her, Kat?"

An excited howl was the reply, and ribbon-girl grinned. "Figures," Turning her gaze to Elly, she explained the obvious. "Well, guess your Kat's third dinner for today."

"Come now, let's not be so hasty," The guy, who had thus far contributed nothing to the fight, said. "It'll be hard to conduct a peaceful conversation with Yuuka Kazami if we kill her daughter."

A loud, ringing laugh could be heard all around the premises, and the two female intruders were on alert. As the feral youkai, Kat, growled in unease at the lack of another person to identify, ribbon-girl kept her composure as she scanned the field of flowers.

"Elly, my daughter? A lovely thought, but woefully inaccurate." The voice spoke again, somehow echoing all over the area. Only the smartly dressed man seemed at ease.

"Ah, Yuuka Kazami. I see you've returned?"

"From the land of dreams, yes." The reply sounded normal, and its location could finally be pinpointed. Everyone turned their head to the patio, where Yuuka was standing in a pale pink nightgown with a matching nightcap. For no real reason, she carried a large, golden-bodied watch with her.

"Tch. Your weak little girlfriend there told us you were out," Ribbon-girl muttered, kicking the still-pinned Elly with her foot.

"Yes, that's standard procedure for gatekeepers who don't wish for their master's to be disturbed," Yuuka said with a bright smile. "And she does a great job, normally. But I see you're having some trouble today, Elly?"

Elly simply nodded, not daring to remove her gaze from the creature on top of her.

Yuuka simply smiled at the scene before her. "Well, good news, Elly. I found you a new shipping partner!"

The ribbon-girl looked confused, while the man simply chuckled in amusement. "I see your tastes are as... different as ever, Yuuka."

"And I see you're still following the fashion of absolutely nothing in Gensokyo, Artimus." Yuuka replied as she approached. Turning her gaze to Kat, she said, "Ah, by the way..."

Before anyone could react, Yuuka was suddenly next to the feral youkai, and had gripped its neck. Gurgling in surprise, Yuuka smiled coldly at Kat.

"Don't think I didn't miss your intentions," Yuuka said calmly while Elly scrambled to her feet, scythe in hand. "Let me warn you now: Madness will not excuse any action you take against _my_ Elly."

Yuuka slammed the feral youkai into the ground, where she yelped in pain. The ribbon-clad girl gasped in horror as Yuuka turned her attention back to Artimus, Elly standing by her side.

"Well, Artimus, would you like to explain the reason for your visit?" Yuuka asked cheerfully, as if she hadn't just crushed the neck and skull of a savage creature. "Last I remember, you disappeared around the time I moved here. And what's with the unusual company?"

"Hey, you! Why'd you hurt my Kitty, you freak!" The silver haired girl yelled as she cradled the savage youkai. Despite its crushed cranium, it would no doubt be fully healed in a few hours.

"Mion, please be polite," Artimus reprimanded softly. "After all, Yuuka was nice enough not to kill her. By the way, did we come at a bad time?" Artimus nodded at Yuuka's nightclothes.

"Oh, not at all!" Yuuka chuckled. "Elly, be a dear and go get us some tea, will you?"

With a reluctant nod, Elly returned to the mansion, while Yuuka glanced at Mion, who was busy glaring at Yuuka with extreme loathing.

"By the way, Elly isn't my girlfriend either," Yuuka told her. "And if you touch her innapropriately again, I'll personally show you how bad that is."

Anna stared in disbelief at Yuuka for several seconds, then turned to Artimus. "Please, for the love of god, let me kill her! That's what we're _supposed _to be doing!"

Yuuka laughed at Mion's words, her eyes twinkling in delight. "Oh, Artimus, where did you find such a comedic girl? And why haven't you taken off her gift wrapping yet?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Anna snarled. "Keep talking, and I'll destroy you!"

Artimus sighed, although he wore a large grin. "Forgive her, Yuuka, she's a bit exciteabale. Power hungry, and all that."

"Oh, it's quite all right." Yuuka chuckled as she headed back to her mansion. "Come on inside! We can catch up on old times, Artie! Oh, and you simply have to divulge that _nefarious_ plan of yours!"

Mion remained kneeling by Kat's side, staring wordlessly at Yuuka. She'd heard the woman was odd, but... what the hell was she? And she was an acquantince of Artimus?

"A-Artimus, don't tell me you're actually going to hang out here? That's not why we came!" Anna protested.

"Oh, it'll be fine'" Artimus said dismissively as he followed Yuuka. "There'll be plenty of time to fight later. Waste of time though, your power doesn't equate to Yuuka's experience..."

Anna simply pouted and cradled Kat, muttering under her breathe all the while. Things were certainly confusing... granted, they were kind of planning something along those lines on a large scale, but Anna didn't plan to be part of the confused masses.

_Stupid flower-loving freak... I'm gonna kick her ass so hard, she'll..._ Anna struggled to think of a clever flower analogy, and instead settled with 'make her cry'.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, here it is, the highly anticipated sequel to 's greatest fan fiction ev- No wait... Sorry, this is the Tsukuribanshi sequel. My mistake!<strong>

**A bit more seriously though, this takes place directly after EoSD. Yet more OC's to meet, and hopefully they don't suck. I don't normally make OC's with any real relation to canon characters, but I figured it'd make Artie a bit more mysterious, and maybe indicate just how strong he possibly could be if he's so familiar with Yuuka.**

**Also, this might end up a tad darker than Tsukribanashi, but I'll try not to make it too grim or anything. At the end of the day, this is Touhou, after all, and I can't see myself pulling it off very well.**

**Well, I hope you guys enjoy this story. Criticism is welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2  Old Allies

"Damn it, Marisa... where are you?" Reimu muttered to herself, searching the absent witch's pigsty of a house. Mountains of junk piled over mountains of other junk formed a treacherous terrain that no one could possibly live in. Various books and pilfered objects covered the walls and floors, possibly hiding even greater treasure within their depths.

Unfortunately, it seemed these items weren't hiding Marisa. It was a bad time for her to be missing, especially with a feral youkai roaming the forest, and Reimu never realised how much she could worry about that kleptomaniac.

_Ugh, just calm down... she's safe. She disappears all the time..._ Reimu reassured herself as she navigated her way outside the (stolen) treasure trove. _Besides, she's probably hanging out with that Alice again..._

A twinge of jealousy accompanied that thought, and Reimu scowled, wondering why Marisa and Alice together always made her feel like that. It wasn't like she cared for Marisa more than as a friend... Reimu chalked it up to Mima's lingering presence or something. Would that ghost feel jealous if Marisa made a new friend?

Reimu tried to recall where exactly Alice's house was. It wasn't really far from Marisa's, but the place could be a little disorienting if you didn't know where to look.

"North east it is." Reimu decided, and cautiously set off, her Hakurei Orb gliding dutifully by her side. With any luck, she wouldn't get ambushed by that feral youkai...

Reimu was flying low, looking for anything that looked distinctly not tree-like. She should be able to spot a building soon enough...

A dark sphere collided with Reimu, and she yelped in surprise, hitting the ground. Another yell came from nearby, although Reimu took no notice. Acting immediately, Reimu's Orb split itself into two smaller spheres, a dull light beginning to emanate, ready to fire upon whoever attacked.

Reimu scrambled to her knees, looking for her assailant, and spotted a fading sphere of darkness that revealed a small, blonde girl with a red ribbon tied in her hair, and watery eyes as she massaged her forehead.

Eyes widening in recognition, the darkness youkai, Rumia, got to her feet. "Y-you! What'd you hit me for?"

"Hit you? You smashed into me!" Reimu argued back, keeping her orbs on standby. She had met Rumia recently, during the 'Scarlet Mist' incident. Although she looked like an innocent child, she was actually somewhat dangerous. She had attempted to eat Reimu and Marisa as they made their way to the mansion across the lake, although Rumia had tried to claim she was only kidding once she ate a couple gallons of danmaku. Reimu wasn't quite at the 'trusting' stage with her yet.

"You're just trying to bully me!" Rumia accused, pointing at Reimu with a hardened glare. "You think you can attack me when I'm taking a leeshurley-"

"Leisurely?"

"-stroll through the forest and blame me? Well, I'm not having it!" Rumia declared, fishing a spellcard from her black blouse. "I'm gonna put an end to your tyranny!"

Reimu sighed, not wishing to waste her time fighting Rumia once again. the outcome was obvious, anyway. "Look, I'm in a hurry here, let's kick your ass some other time, okay?"

Rumia's eyes narrowed as she gripped her spellcard. "Now you're trying to run away? What, too scared to face me now?"

"No, but I am worried about attracting the feral youkai's attention." Reimu replied simply, and Rumia blinked in confusion.

"F-feral?"

"Yeah. You know, crazy, psychotic, dangerous, doesn't kid around about eating humans. And other youkai." Reimu said, noting that Rumia was now looking somewhat worried. "In fact, that same youkai nearly killed a friend of mine today."

Rumia was looking somewhat nervous now, although she tried to keep up a tough front. "Y-you're lying! There's no youkai like that here!"

"Then feel free to die." Reimu said, and flew past the startled youkai. After a moment, Rumia called after Reimu, and was flying just behind the shrine maiden.

"Hold it! So, if you're telling the truth, what'll we do?" Rumia asked.

"... Well, I'm gonna try and deal with it." Reimu said. "In the meantime... I dunno, stay out of the forest. Might wanna warn anyone you see."

"O-okay! You better not be lying!" Rumia said and turned, probably looking for a friend or two to take with her. Reimu concentrated on finding Alice's house, while also remaining on alert. Maybe she shouldn't have left that Rumia girl alone... Well, no time to lament over that. Reimu was sure she could escape without any trouble.

* * *

><p>"Sorry for the wait~!" Yuuka called as she entered the sitting room, wearing her usual attire of a red plaid vest and skirt with a light pink blouse, her dark green hair cascading down her back. "So, how's Elly's tea?"<p>

"It's lovely." Artimus replied, putting his half-drained cup down on the table that sat between the armchairs. Turning his attention to Elly, he said, "You're quite a skilled maid, aren't you?"

Elly was staring at their 'guests' with a frown and folded arms, clearly not liking the idea of having them inside their home. "I'm a gatekeeper." She said stiffly.

Yuuka sat opposite Artimus and Mion, who was still cradling the injured Kat and glaring at Yuuka. "Now now, Elly, don't be rude," She admonished lightly, picking up her own cup.

"It's quite all right," Artimus reassured her, although he was wearing an amused smirk as he glanced at Elly. "Well, it sure has been a while! How have things been since we last met?"

Yuuka looked thoughtful as she sipped her tea. "Well... eventful. There was the occasional incident for a few decades, although I didn't pay much notice until I ended up as a final boss."

Mion looked horribly confused and glanced at Artimus for clarification, who was smiling slightly. "Oh? I hope you lived up to that title?"

Yuuka smiled mischievously. "Well, I had a little fun with that shrine maiden and the witch, but I didn't really show them a hint of my power until that rematch."

"And you lost on purpose?" Artimus asked with a grin, and Yuuka shrugged.

"Hey, if I beat them senseless, it could hamper their future performances!" She giggled, and took another sip of her tea.

Mion shook her head, unable to figure the woman out. It seemed she was as mad as everyone claimed.

"Artimus, when can we stop wasting time?" Mion practically whined. "I have to avenge my Kitty Kathy..."

Yuuka smiled widely as she turned her attention to Mion. "Ah yes, I believe Ribbons here wants to kill me?"

Mion shot Yuuka another glare of loathing as Artimus nodded. "Yes, she believes you would be of no threat to her, although I would like to postpone that conflict for now."

"Ever the pacifist, Artimus," Yuuka laughed, setting her cup down. "But when it came to battle, you always had others do all the fighting for you."

"And you were more than happy to fill my share of conflict," Artimus reminded her, as if reminiscing of times long since passed. "In fact, I wanted to ask you..."

Artimus leaned forward, now wearing a serious expression. Yuuka smiled lightly, although she clearly wasn't in a joking mood either.

"Would you consider helping us out?" Artimus asked, and the two acquainted youkai ignored the startled cries of 'what?' from their respective parties. "You made chaos an art, and I would greatly appreciate that talent for the new age of discord."

Elly stared at Artimus in disbelief, and rounded on Yuuka. "Master! Don't tell me that you're gonna listen to him!"

"Why not? We're old allies," Yuuka said. "And chaotic times are usually fun."

"But even so-"

"Artimus, please tell me you're kidding!" Mion pleaded with the smartly dressed man, who's attention was focused solely on the green-haired youkai sitting across from him.

Ignoring Elly's protests, Yuuka continued speaking. "Yes... the fun we had, terrorising the populace... scaring the humans and lesser youkai. But..."

Yuuka stared into Artimus' steely grey eyes with a hardened glare of her own. "Things have changed somewhat, Artie. What you want is complete and total anarchy, am I right?"

Artimus merely nodded.

"I'm afraid that simply won't do." Yuuka sighed almost sadly. "You see, now that I've mellowed out and matured, I've found things that I've grown rather fond of. Things that simply couldn't survive your ideal world."

"...What a pity," Artimus sighed, leaning back. "We could have dominated everything. Not even Yukari Yakumo could have stopped all of us together."

"Not that she would, since we're too early in the time line for her appearance." Yuuka said with an amused smile, and Mion groaned, feeling her brain ache. How could Artimus make sense of her statements?

"So, I'm afraid that we won't be teaming up." Yuuka sighed, and Elly looked somewhat smug as she stared at their 'guests', glad she wouldn't have to help them for whatever reason.

Artimus got to his feet, giving Yuuka a forlorn stare. "Well, that is most unfortunate. I suppose we'll take our le-"

"For god's sake, Artimus! Remember why we frickin' _came_ here!" Mion screamed.

"Don't worry, Ribbons," Yuuka said as she stared back at Artimus with an amused smile. "I had no intention of letting you lot leave anyway."

"Oh?" Artimus raised his eyebrows as Yuuka got to her feet. "You mean you're actually going to stop us?"

Yuuka nodded in confirmation as Elly moved to her master's side, scythe in hand. "Like I said, there are things I like that simply wouldn't survive if I left you alone. For once, I'll take the role of the hero."

Mion was now grinning as she carefully moved Kat from her lap and stood to face Yuuka. "Finally! Now I get to kill you!"

"Oh, Yuuka..." Artimus shook his head sadly. "I never thought the day would come when we would be forced to clash. Truly a sad day..."

"Eh, shit happens." Yuuka shrugged.

"True... well, I suppose I'll let Mion indulge herself for a while," Artimus picked up the unconscious youkai and moved to leave the building. "Mion, don't get overconfident. I'd hate to step in."

"Like you'll need to." Mion grinned as she twitched her fingers. Elly made to intercept Artimus, but Yuuka stopped her, blocking her gatekeeper's path with the umbrella that certainly wasn't at her hand a moment ago.

"Don't bother with him, Elly."

"But, Master-"

"Trust me, leave him. He won't set foot outside the garden anyway," Yuuka said with finality in her tone. "Instead... vacate the mansion yourself, I have a feeling things will turn out messy."

Elly would have argued further, but it was pointless with Yuuka. If she wanted Elly to do something, it will be done, no question asked. With great reluctance, the dutiful gatekeeper made her exit, leaving through a door that led to the mansion's side.

Mion glanced around the sitting room, a small grin on her face." It's a bit small in here. Wanna take this outside?"

"No need." Yuuka replied, and immediately thrust forward with her umbrella, hopping onto the table as she did so. Surprisingly, Mion dodged, though barely. Ducking her head to the right, she immediately tried to counter by sweeping Yuuka's feet off the table, but the flower youkai had already retreated to the other end of the room.

"Nice reflexes," Yuuka commented, shouldering the umbrella. "Perhaps I was right about you... having a completely unreadable spirit must mean you're pretty damn strong."

"Unreadable?" Mion repeated with some surprise. "You mean, you can..."

"Normally, I could get an excellent grasp of your ability from a glance," Yuuka explained. "But you... No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to feel a thing from you. Why is that?"

Mion grinned as she pounced at Yuuka. "Like I'd give away my secrets!"

Yuuka easily dodged the attack and pointed her open palm at Mion's head, unleashing a flurry of light yellow bullets that vaguely resembled a sunflower in full bloom. The bullets only struck her wall as Mion had somehow moved away, standing by the doorway.

Yuuka glanced at her opponent, a wide grin on her face. "Heh, a super-powered newbie capable of dodging my attacks at point blank? I hope your surname isn't 'Sue'."

Mion frowned in confusion before replying. "If I hit you hard enough, would you start making comments that make sense? 'Cause I don't quite get the joke."

"Oh, never mind, let's just have an epic fight at the beginning of the incident!" Yuuka said dismissively, and Mion suppressed a growl of frustration before leaping in to attack again.

* * *

><p>After another fifteen minutes of stumbling about, blindly searching for Alice's house while making sure a wild youkai wasn't about to pounce upon her, Reimu finally found the doll master's house. She had only seen it once, and not the interior. It was clearly much better than Marisa's, at any rate, seeing as the building was bigger and cleaner, and that as just the outside.<p>

Thankful for finally finding it, Reimu rushed to the front and began pounding it with her fist. After several moments, the grumbling owner of the house opened the door, glaring at Reimu irritably. "What? Oh, it'd you, Hakurei. What is it?"

Alice was a blonde haired girl, with a light blue ribbon tied in her hair, a pink button-shirt, and a blue skirt held with suspenders. Normally, a doll would be floating beside her, and today there were several, all staring blankly at Reimu.

Reimu and Alice never seemed to get along all too well. Alice was pretty cold and distant to Reimu, who chalked it up to beating Alice up in Makai. Then again, Marisa had done the same thing, and Alice constantly visited the witch, so maybe she just plain didn't like Reimu.

"Sorry to bother you, but is Marisa here?" Reimu asked, glancing at the forest around them. "There's a bit of a situation here, and it's pretty urgent you two know about it."

"Like what?" Alice, turning to enter her home. Reimu assumed she was invited inside and followed, noting how clean and orderly the place looked.

"Well, a feral youkai's apparently hanging out in the forest," Reimu explained, seeing a bunch of dolls lining shelves or flying around, glancing at Reimu with blank expressions. "A friend of mine got attacked and seriously wounded, and since you two live here..."

Alice entered her kitchen, returning after a moment with a small cup of diluted sake, which she silently handed to Reimu before sitting herself at a workbench at the other end of a room.

"Uh... thanks..." Reimu said, grimacing slightly at her drink. She wasn't adverse to sake, but it was a bit early and the wrong time to be drinking. "So, has Marisa been around?"

"No," Alice responded simply, hunched over whatever she was working on. "Haven't seen her all day, or yesterday."

Reimu frowned, wondering where exactly she could have gotten to.

"I see... well, thanks anyway. Keep an eye out for... whatever that youkai is." Reimu said, deciding to just gulp the liquid down. It wasn't like a diluted sake cup of the stuff was going to get her hammered anyway.

As she turned to leave, however, an overwhelming sense of dizziness overwhelmed Reimu, and she stumbled into the wall with a gasp of surprise. Gulping for air, Reimu tried to make sense of the distorting room. A hand gripped her shoulder, a heavily filtered voice speaking in her ear.

It took several moments for Reimu to realise it was Alice, demanding an explanation for what was happening. When the world stopped spinning, Reimu glance at Alice in confusion.

"Answer me! What's wrong with you!" Alice's normally cold demeanour was twinged with a hint of worry, and Reimu stumbled to her feet, rubbing her head.

"No idea... You weren't trying to poison me, were you?" Reimu asked, and Alice's glare dropped a few degrees in temperature.

"Are you insinuating I tried to kill you, Hakurei?" She asked, and Reimu quickly retracted her statement.

"No! It was a joke! But still, might wanna check out what's in your sake..." Reimu mumbled, hoping that was the cause, and that Alice hadn't just tried to mess with her in some way. The last thing she needed was Alice randomly trying to kill her.

Alice simply 'hmph'd' and walked back to her workbench. "Really now, blaming me for your sickness..." she muttered. "You try and show some hospitality and you're branded a murderer..."

With a sigh, Reimu made her way outside once again, stopping to say, "Hey, make sure you warn Marisa if you see her, okay?"

"Fine." Alice replied simply, absorbed with whatever she was doing with that doll on the bench. Leaving her to her work, Reimu exited, closing the door behind her.

_Weird..._ Reimu frowned, placing a hand to her forehead._ Have I come down with something? Pretty bad timing if I have..._

Shaking her head, Reimu set off again, wondering where Marisa could have gone. She was undeniably worried about the witch now, and she hadn't spotted hide nor hair of this 'feral creature'. Had it moved on already?

_Well, I'm sure it hasn't moved on to the human villages... but where the hell could it have gone?_ Reimu wondered.


	3. Chapter 3  Chaos Arts

From outside Yuuka's mansion, rather explosive sounds could be heard, shaking the whole building. Several quakes and booms later, a light green laser burst through the roof, bellowing towards the sky. When it subsided, a girl wrapped in an insane amount of ribbons was left panting, having tried to block the attack thrown at her. Yuuka ascended from her damaged roof a second later, smiling sweetly.

"Still standing? Now I know you're something special!" Yuuka complimented as she pointed her umbrella at the still-smoking Mion. "Unfortunately, you simply can't compete with me. So, sayonara and all that!"

Mion simply growled and untied one of her ribbons, gripping it tightly as it fluttered in the wind.

"Chaos Art: Final Fist!" Mion declared, and her ribbon dissipated, with Mion herself glowing a faint red before seemingly disappearing.

Yuuka simply tutted. "You know, just because you can flit around doesn't mean I can't. Hell, I bet you stole that trick!"

Swiftly, the flower youkai wheeled around, bringing her umbrella to meet with Mion's fist, who looked surprised that her attack was predicted and blocked so easily. Her fist, glowing a deep crimson, was being pushed back by Yuuka's strength.

"You're stupid umbrella should have vaporised!" Mion growled. "What the hell is it made of?"

"Love, caring, a bit of plastic, and some metal." Yuuka replied cheerfully, practically swatting the girl away with ease. "So, I take it those ribbons are really stupid spellcards?"

"Stupid?" Mion repeated angrily. "They're not stupid! They're incredibly awesome and stylish-"

"Whatever you say, Ribbons." Yuuka had already moved, her hand extended towards Mion. Another flurry of bullets emerged, and Mion had somehow managed to evade just in time, quickly retreating.

_The way she moves... it's quite similar to me._ Yuuka noted, watching Mion with an amused expression. _And her power... it feels like she could match me if she could properly control herself. Just what are you?_

Mion contemplated her options for a few seconds. Indeed, she was having trouble adjusting to Yuuka. Normally, Mion would have matched her opponent quite easily, but Yuuka's strength was unbelievable, just like Artimus... maybe there was credence to him not believing in her chance to win, but that didn't matter. If Yuuka was against them, then fighting would have been inevitable.

There was also something else about Yuuka that bothered Mion. All this power... where was it coming from? Even though Mion was struggling to adapt to Yuuka's strength, it felt like Yuuka had far more than what Mion had access to. Did she have an external power source?

"Jeez, and I thought I was slow!" Yuuka called to Mion. "Don't tell me your speed stat is actually lower than one?"

"What do you even mean?" Mion snarled back, and shook her head, untying another ribbon from her forearm. "Ugh, forget it, you're dying now."

Mion held the ribbon above her head, glaring at Yuuka as she did. "Chaos Art: World's End!"

The sky immediately turned dark, and Yuuka's gaze turned cold as she stared at the sky.

"Ribbons, I would advise returning the sun," Yuuka said, sounding unusually serious. "My flowers do not appreciate this climate you are bringing with you."

"Sucks to be them, then." Mion shrugged as her ribbon disintegrated, and her body again glowed brightly.

Yuuka saw the sky apparently part, as if someone had literally torn the air, revealing a vast, empty blackness that could potentially drive a person mad. Obviously, this was of no concern of Yuuka. But the giant meteor apparently made of that black essence was.

With a sigh, Yuuka pointed her umbrella at the meteor, casually muttering, 'Master Spark', and a giant laser rushed to meet the rock (assuming a mass made of nothing but a colour could be called that).

Yuuka realised immediately that this thing was an insanely powerful spell, and as for 'Chaos Arts' in general... Was this Artimus' work? The flower youkai immediately poured all of her power into the Master Spark, barely keeping it from progressing any further.

Smugly, Mion watched with folded arms as Yuuka struggled to control the black meteor. "Ha! I knew I'd get you with that! How d'you like my 'Chaos Arts' magic, then?"

Yuuka didn't reply, instead trying to think of a way to solve this particular problem. Obviously, destroying this meteor was going to be a tad tricky, even for her. and with no other option, decided to take out the caster.

Mion saw Yuuka briefly glow a bright shade of green, but nothing seemed to come of it, except her laser got a little smaller and her meteor began to push onward. Perhaps Yuuka had lost a considerable amount of power?

"Whatever you thought happened, it's dead wrong." Yuuka said from behind Mion, who was blasted by another Master Spark before she could react. With the back of her head currently experiencing the rather painful effects of getting Sparked, her body lost its glow, and the Meteor, as well as the torn, dark sky, began to disappear.

The clone that Yuuka sent out rejoined with the original, and Yuuka successfully repelled the meteor before it could crash into the area, although Yuuka was feeling incredibly drained. A sensation she couldn't recall feeling before.

"...Unless you thought I got a bit weaker." Yuuka muttered to herself.

_A practitioner of 'Chaos Arts'? And she's mastered that spell? Artimus, you have been busy..._ Yuuka thought, her expression showing that she was no longer playing around. This Mion girl, she was proving to be an extremely wild and unpredictable opponent, which was saying a lot.

Yuuka lowered herself to ground level, standing over the girl who was struggling to get up.

"I don't know how someone like you became so powerful," Yuuka said, pointing her umbrella at Mion's forehead. "But if you have such twisted power within you, it's best to eliminate you now."

"Tch. Hypocritical bitch," Mion snarled, her amber eyes flashing with anger. "You're strong enough for Artimus to want you on our side. That proves that you're monstrously strong too. If you're so worried about strong people, kindly go kill yourself."

Yuuka smiled coldly at the ribbon-clad girl. "Why yes, I suppose I am a monster. Maybe I shouldn't be allowed to exist! But you want to know what makes this monster different from you?"

Mion didn't answer, instead climbing shakily to her feet, struggling to concentrate on Yuuka.

"It's because I learned of the power of love!" Yuuka declared, her seriousness now momentarily forgotten. "Love empowers all! My love for my flowers - Oh, and Elly too - strengthens me to god-like strength!"

"And addles your brain." Mion panted.

"Yeah, an unfortunate side effect..." Yuuka shrugged, and her expression immediately set itself to a grim look. "And my love for all I hold dear means I have to kill you and Artie, and that other one deserves a mercy kill..."

Mion's eyes flashed furiously at the mention of Kat. How dare this freak speak of killing her pet? No one messed with her property!

"If reincarnation exists, come back as someone less ribbony, okay?" Yuuka said, and thrust her umbrella forward, intending to impale her helpless opponent.

Miraculously for Mion, the attack was stopped, with Yuuka looking shocked. She was shaking slightly, as if attempting to free herself.

Yuuka glanced at her feet, seeing that they had turned a dark grey. No... it wasn't just that. Her clothes, her flesh, it was turning to stone.

"Chaos Arts: Petra Body," Artimus sighed sadly, seemingly appearing from nowhere behind Yuuka. "You remember this one, Yuuka? One of my first developed spells."

Yuuka lowered her umbrella, staring at her rapidly turning body. The stone had reached her knees by now.

"...My, I really messed up, didn't I?" Yuuka said, a small smile on her lips. "First, I waste my energy on your little girlfriend, then I let you sneak up on me with this..."

Artimus moved to Yuuka's front, an apologetic look on his face. "My sincerest pardons, Yuuka. If possible, I would have preferred a more formal victory, but..."

"Oh, I know how it goes," Yuuka said dismissively. "Pragmatic villain and blah blah blah. Just know that I am_ so_ blowing your ass to hell for this."

Artimus smiled in amusement. "I'll look forward to it." He said as the petrification climbed over Yuuka's waist.

Mion watched with narrowed eyes as Yuuka slowly turned into a statue. Why was Artimus so pally with her, even now? He had condemned her to a lifetime of petrification, after all! Why were they both so calm?

"Well, hope you have fun with that chaos thingy you're going for," Yuuka said conversationally, as if she were rushing out a few last words before hurrying to finish an errand. "Of course, there's a few main characters and miscellaneous side characters to fight if you want to proceed smoothly."

"We'll be on the lookout," Artimus said with a small bow, before turning to leave. "Well, goodbye, Yuuka Kazami."

"Later, Artie." Yuuka said, a chilling smile on her face as the spell climbed over her chest, spreading to her arms and neck.

Mion suppressed a shudder, before turning to stumble after Artimus, who was wearing an unreadable expression.

"...You're just gonna leave her like that?" Mion muttered. Artimus merely nodded. "But... she's too strong to die from that! She'll break loose!"

"Eventually, but that won't be for a while," Artimus replied, heading for a small clearing in the flowers. "And I would like to battle her in the field of chaos and despair, our natural element."

Mion gave him a quizzical look, before shaking her head. "Is everyone with your power level that insane and/or idiotic?"

Artimus chuckled slightly. "You kept your sanity well. Then again, without Yuuka, you're back to a powerless child."

Mion merely huffed, then her eyes lit up when she saw a figure sitting within the clearing. "Kathy!"

Mion practically tackled the feral girl into the ground with her hug, gushing about how worried she was. The newly healed Kat simply squealed with joy, grunting a greeting in reply. "Mion, have fun?"

"Not really." Mion frowned. "Turns out Yuuka's just a weird idiot!"

"Can eat?"

"No rocks in your diet!" Mion scolded teasingly, pressing Kat's nose with her finger. Kat pretended to sulk before Artimus cleared his throat.

"Well ladies, if we're done, perhaps she should stake out one more recruit or two before we begin?"

Mion sighed. "Fiiiiiiine, but don't expect anyone else to join if your insane BFF thought you were mad."

* * *

><p>From a distance, Elly had watched the battle, confident that her master would utterly destroy the ribbon-clad intruder, even if she was holding up surprisingly well. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that Yuuka had already won.<p>

then, that huge ass meteor came from the dark sky that the girl apparently summoned. It was a magic completely unfamiliar to her, and although her instincts roared for her to assist her master, she had paused, staring dumbly at the display.

Yuuka was... struggling? How? That never happened! Not one memory Elly could recall showed Yuuka having to exert herself (unless she was flying around outside her Garden of Sunflowers. She was notoriously slow there). And yet this girl... she was forcing Yuuka back? Impossible!

So Elly had paused, shock and a hint of fear holding in place, distanced from the battle. She sighed with relief when Yuuka managed to eventually dispel the meteor, but she could feel the spent energy, and couldn't fathom how Yuuka had used up so much. Just how strong was this girl? From their brief encounter, she wasn't capable of such magic! Was she really holding back that much earlier?

And then, the event that nearly dropped Elly from the air in shock. That Artimus guy... moving at a speed only Yuuka's should accomplish in this place, had somehow turned her master to stone, and her mind nearly toppled into despair.

Elly shouldn't have been so afraid. It was unnatural to her! She had nothing to fear, being the gatekeeper to Yuuka Kazami! So why couldn't she stop shaking?

The two intruders left when Yuuka was nearly fully consumed. Elly still remained in place, too afraid to approach lest their attention be attracted to her. Elly knew how pathetic and shameful she was being, too afraid to help her master in her most perilous moment, when Yuuka had done exactly that for her so many years ago...

But Elly's old fear was resurfacing, thanks to that battle. Long-repressed memories of isolation, of statue's that were once living people... No, it couldn't be...

Finally, Elly snapped back to her senses. There was no time to remember horrible times! Yuuka was in trouble, and Elly had to try and do something!

Elly shot for Yuuka, who's face was the only part where flesh remained, but that too, was about to change.

"Master!" Elly cried, dropping in front of her, eyes filled with tears as she dropped her scythe. "Master, I-I'll save you!"

Yuuka only smiled at Elly, the only thing she pretty much could do. Her lips parted, forming silent words before the petrification fully consumed her.

A few seconds later, Elly was staring at what could pass for a life-like statue of her master, frozen in stone.

Elly was motionless, speechless, for several moments, unable to comprehend what had happened. Had they... killed Yuuka?

"No... they didn't," It's impossible." Elly muttered to herself, her shoulders beginning to shake as warm tears trailed her face. "They didn't kill her. they can't kill my master. She's the strongest. The absolute strongest..."

Elly dropped to her knees, sobbing pitifully into her hands. She refused to believe it! There was a way to undo it! There just had to be! There had to be a counter spell, or some sort of potion that could reverse this, right?

Elly remembered this familiar scene once before, seeing an entire village of petrified people, unable to comprehend what had happened. Then, a green-haired figure looming over her, the sensation of fear...

"It's not like that," Elly muttered to herself, sniffling. She hurriedly dried her tears on the sleeve of her dress. "It'll be different. I will save her! I won't let her die like this..."

Picking her scythe up from the ground, Elly stared at the petrified Yuuka, before embracing it tightly and reassuringly.

"I'll save you," Elly whispered. "And if I can't do it alone, I'll rally everyone in Gensokyo to kick ass and free you."

Elly tried to recall what Yuuka had tried to say. Not being much of a lip-reader, the gatekeeper was finding it difficult to match words to her lips, but she was confident she found Yuuka's message: "Get payback."

_Just what I was planning..._ Elly thought. She wasn't going to attempt to battle those guys here. It was clear she was outmatched. And while Elly seriously doubted that anyone as strong as Yuuka existed (or was readily available), she would have to settle for finding the next strongest beings.

"First stop: Hakurei Shrine."

* * *

><p>Cursing to herself, Reimu returned to her shrine, trying not to show how obviously worried she was about Marisa while she muttered bitterly to herself. Genji was sorely tempted to tease about their relationship once again, but decided that could wait until things looked a little less serious.<p>

"I just can't think where she could have disappeared to!" Reimu growled, pressing a damp clothe to Shujiko's forehead, who was still sleeping and healing from her injuries. "If I find that witch, I am so feeding her to that damn youkai... and where is that thing, anyway?"

"Lady Reimu..." Genji sighed. "Perhaps you haven't taken into consideration another location that would appeal to a kleptomaniac witch?"

"Like where!" Reimu snapped.

"Well, you did tell me Marisa never left that library in the vampire's mansion the first time you arrived," Genji said, and Reimu froze. "I can only assume that she's poking her nose into some spell book there."

Silently, Reimu slowly wandered to her shrine's patio, her expression unreadable, before launching into the air and heading back to the forest of magic, looking for the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"Such an airhead..." Genji sighed, and noticed that Reimu had left her Hakurei Orb behind on the small pedestal it usually stood upon.. "...This better not end up biting her on the ass."

Reimu's mind was too preoccupied with cursing Marisa for making her worry senselessly to worry about forgetting her primary weapon, however.

Flying over the forest, Reimu could barely see the tip of the mansion through the canopy of the trees. The leaves had thinned from a lack of sunlight, so things were somewhat easier to see in the forest, at least.

And what Reimu saw was three figures emerging in front of her, and she halted, seeing the annoyed looks on their faces.

"Hey, you!" The blonde girl in black clothing said. "You lied to me! There's no feral youkai here at all!"

"Eh?" Reimu had momentarily forgotten about the creature that was supposed to be prowling around. "What, that? You mean you haven't seen it?"

"Duh! Because it doesn't exist!" Rumia's blue-haired companion said, and Reimu groaned when she recognised the blue/white clothing and wings made of ice. That damn ice fairy who'd slowed their progress a bit during the last incident... Cirno.

The third member of the group was another ice fairy, with long, green hair and gold-rimmed wings. She was weaker than Cirno, but definitely much more tolerable. She also seemed to be pretty worried.

"Guys, maybe it is true..." She whispered, nervously glancing at the forest below them. "Can't we be a bit more cautious?"

"There's no need, Daiyousei!" Cirno declared. "There's no way a feral youkai would be wandering my forest without my knowledge! This deceitful shrine maiden has lied in order to... to, uh... Do something nasty!"

Reimu gritted her teeth in an attempt to control her impatience. "Get out of my way. I'm in a bit of a hurry here."

"To spread more lies?" Rumia accused.

"No, to beat up a witch who decided to disappear when a monster is roaming about," Reimu replied evenly. "You know what? I don't care if you don't believe me, just go away."

Cirno wasn't one to back down, however. An admirable trait for a fairy, an utter headache for the shrine maiden.

"As if! I can't have you spread your poisonous lies all over our forest! I shall have your tongue for this!"

"C-Cirno, please tone down your dramatic speech a bit..." Daiyousei suggested. "It's a bit much to do to someone lying..."

"Enough of this, I'm going." Reimu snapped, and sped past the group, who watched silently for a few moments.

Eventually, Cirno spoke, sounding insulted. "D...did she just ignore me? _Me?_"

"Sure looks that way, genius." Rumia replied.

"Urgh! The nerve of her!" Cirno snarled. "No one blows off the strongest being in Gensokyo and lives to- what're you two laughing at?"

Daiyousei struggled to control her giggling long enough to speak. "S-sorry, Cirno... That was just... I-" She started laughing again. Rumia didn't attempt to reply, too busy shaking with giggles.

"...Idiots." Cirno muttered. "Well, come on, let's lay a shrine maiden trap for when she comes back. I'll have my vengeance!"

Finally arriving at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Reimu landed just outside the front gate, storming through it. Up ahead, she could see a woman with long, auburn hair and a rather mature body nodding on and off by the front door. Reimu remembered the gatekeeper, Hong Meiling. Her Danmaku was woefully inferior to what Reimu and Marisa could produce, but apparently she was a martial arts expert. Reimu didn't know much about that, but that wasn't why she was here, anyway.

Meiling noticed Reimu approaching, and snapped awake immediately. "Halt! What business do you have here at the... wait, aren't you... that shrine maiden girl?"

"Yes," Reimu said impatiently. "Let me in, I have to go find Marisa."

"Who?" Meiling asked in confusion.

"The blonde witch dressed in black?"

"Ah," Meiling frowned thoughtfully. "But... I don't think she's here. I woulda seen her."

Reimu sighed, keeping herself calm. "While asleep?"

Meiling didn't have an answer for that, and instead said, "But yeah, pretty sure she isn't here."

"Absolutely?" Reimu jumped back, startled, at the sudden appearance of a silver haired maid, smiling pleasantly. Meiling, apparently used to Sakuya Izayoi's spontaneous appearances, merely nodded.

"S-Sakuya..." Reimu muttered, recovering her composure. "Why d'you have to do that?"

"Do what now?" Sakuya asked innocently. "But regardless, you're here to see that Kirisame person?"

Reimu nodded. "Well, last I heard she was hiding out in Patchouli's library. Would you assist in the search?"

_She's_ hiding_ there now?_ Reimu thought in irritation. Marisa was getting a good slap for this trouble. "Okay, might as well."

"Wait a minute!" Meiling cried. "When did someone enter? _And_ without my notice?"

"When you were slacking off, China," Sakuya said a little more sternly. Reimu wasn't exactly sure why the Mansion's residents referred to their gatekeeper as 'China'. Maybe it was some nickname picked up from the Outside World? "In fact, she snuck in sometime yesterday."

"and I wasn't informed?" Meiling asked crossly.

"No need. If you can't keep people from entering our home, you'll have quite a bit of trouble expelling them," Sakuya shrugged. "This way, Miss Hakurei."

"Just 'Reimu' will do." The shrine maiden said as she followed Sakuya inside. As one would expect from a mansion, it was a pretty big place, with multiple doors and corridors branching off from the foyer.

Sakuya took her down a corridor to her left, which Reimu vaguely remembered was the way to the library. They had battled their way through the place at random, searching for the mansion's owner and instigator of the Scarlet Mist Incident, and had met, aside from the gatekeeper and the maid, the librarian, the Scarlet Devil herself... and her sister, as well as numerous fairies and other servants to the residents.

Sakuya led Reimu to a large set of doors. "The library," The maid stated. "Patchouli should be conducting a search as we speak. Please assist her and Koakuma as best you can."

With that, Sakuya left, and Reimu opened the doors, coming across a staircase that led to the library proper.

The place was massive, to say the least. Marisa had told Reimu that it was probably five times bigger than the Daidouji's, with way more interesting books. Reimu didn't really care about that, although she found the librarian somewhat odd.

Patchouli Knowledge was a rather short youkai with a myriad of health problems. While Reimu didn't doubt she was an insanely powerful elementalist, her asthma and god-knew-what-else provided a difficult barrier to overcome. Reimu blamed it on her apparently living in this library without seeing sunlight for the better part of a century.

When Reimu entered the library proper, she came across a tall woman with dark, red hair, a black dress, and wings that grew from her back and her head. Reimu recalled her as being Patchouli's servant. Right now, she was busy planting cards at the ends of bookshelves and muttering.

"What's up?" Reimu asked, causing the woman to jump. Craning her neck, she saw Reimu and sighed.

"Please, don't do that!" Koakuma said, turning back to the spellcard. "Now I've lost my train of thought..."

Reimu moved closer to inspect the card. "That an alarm spell or something?"

"Kinda..." Koakuma replied, a small smile on her face. "It'll screech like a banshee when a human crosses its path, and it'll also knock 'em out. Should be enough to catch that witch."

Reimu glanced at the other rows, where similar cards had been planted. "Seems like a fine plan... but they're too obvious. Marisa could easily disable them from a distance."

"Ah, but Miss Knowledge thought of that!" Koakuma said brightly. "She's enchanted them all so that, if anyone tries to alter or disable the original spell contained within, they send a silent alarm through my head!"

"...Just yours?" Reimu asked with a frown.

"The noise annoys Miss Knowledge, so it's up to me to listen for it." Koakuma shrugged.

Reimu rolled her eyes. "Sounds entirely fair. So, anywhere I can look without blaring an alarm?"

Koakuma looked around the library thoughtfully. "Hm... Well, go down this isle..." Koakuma pointed to the isle that she was currently setting up with the traps. "Take a left, walk past another two isle's, then head straight to the other end. Just patrol that general area."

"...Terrific." Reimu sighed, and set off, remembering the directions mainly by looking out for other cards. She would have called out for Marisa, but it seemed pointless if that infuriating witch was hiding...

As Reimu walked however, another feeling of dizziness overwhelmed her, and she staggered onto the shelves, which thankfully supported her weight.

Again, her vision swam, distorting the world around her, and she was gasping for breathe. _What the hell is happening? Am I sick?_ Reimu wondered, trying to recover her senses.

The sensation began to fade after a few moments, but Reimu was now more than a little concerned for her health. That was the second in... what, half an hour? Was she stressed out or something?

Well, Reimu could ask Genji about it later. For now, all she wanted to do was find Marisa and yell at her for disappearing...

* * *

><p><strong>What's this? OC's that got the better of Yuuka? I feel like I've committed a severe crime...<strong>

**Anyways, yeah, Chaos Arts. Crappy name, I know, but since when was my originality a strong point? It's main purpose is to give spellcard regulation thingies the middle finger, cause panic and fear, and all that good stuff. Gonna be quite a challenge for our heroines to beat, huh?**

**As for Mion's abilities... while she may seem overpowered, pulling out meteors from a totally-not-a-gap-rip-off, Yuuka's one of the few people she could actually attempt to use that spell on. It'll be clarified later on in the story (Maybe soon, if I don't change my mind...) just what exactly her 'power level' is.**

**Aaaaand... Tiny bit of fanon-back story for Elly and Yuuka. No idea if there's any canon back story, but I kinda doubt it. Hope it's intriguing, because I plan to elaborate a little on it at some point in the future.**

**So, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and the whole 'Yuuka lost' thing isn't too hard to swallow... It was tough for me to depict her losing, after all. ^^;**


	4. Chapter 4 Seeds of Anarchy

Ten minutes of fruitless searching later, and Reimu was standing at the end of the library, sighing. It was obvious she wasn't going to find Marisa so easily, especially if she had evaded detection since last night. But still, she could at least leave a clue or something...

Way off to her left was a door, which Reimu assumed led to Patchouli's study. No doubt Patchouli herself would be inside, probably reading some complicated spell book that specialised in thief detection.

Reimu leaned against the wall, thinking about what the hell was going on. First, Shujiko arrives looking like she'd flown through razor wires to find the shrine, then Marisa makes her disappearance known during a time when a feral monster was roaming her back yard... and then there were those weird dizzy spells.

Just what were those about, anyway? Reimu was sure she wasn't sick, and she was pretty confident Alice hadn't spiked her drink or anything. Was it stress? The last few incidents had been a bit taxing...

Reimu heard a small thump from behind, and frowned in confusion, glancing at the wall she rested upon. Did she just hear something coming from it?

There was a small shuffling sound, and Reimu pointed her ear to the wall, listening closely. There appeared to be tiny, muffled footsteps, cautiously making there way to some unknown destination. Reimu wondered if it was an extra room, or even a secret part of the library. And the shrine maiden had a pretty good idea of who was walking around behind that wall.

The footsteps stopped close by. Reimu pressed her ear close to the wall, trying to pick up any kind of sound. When the wall suddenly lifted from the ground, Reimu yelped and fell forward, crashing into a very surprised person on the other end, and they both fell to the ground.

Reimu blinked, noting that her face was pressed against someone's chest. Blushing slightly, Reimu lifted her head to meet a blonde girl with shining, golden eyes and a surprised expression.

"Reimu?" Marisa breathed. "Didn't expect to see you sneaking around here, too. Hell, I wasn't aware you could read!"

"Nice to see you too, flatty." Reimu answered coolly, not budging from her position atop Marisa, who raised an eyebrow.

"Ouch, Reimu! What'd I do to deserve that!"

"You've been hiding in here, all this time," Reimu said, and Marisa nodded. "Why?"

Marisa rolled her eyes, as if the answer were obvious. "Duh. Found a few cool books, decided to borrow some, and... got lost."

Reimu stared icily at the witch. "You 'got lost'?"

"Well, there were a few patrols around, and I had to switch course a few times until I thought 'bugger it', and decided to find a secret spot no one would find me in!"

Reimu glanced at the room Marisa emerged from. It was dark, although Reimu could barely make out the outlines of furniture. "And you found this... how?"

"Reimu, it's a bit hard to breathe, ze." Marisa said, fidgeting as best she could. "Please move before I resort to insulting your weight."

Reimu rose to her feet, allowing Marisa to stand up as well, brushing off her black robes and adjusting her hat, which somehow never left her head.

"Thanks, giga-hips."

"Giga...? Whatever," Reimu shook her head with a sigh. "Marisa, you chose the worst possible time to hide in here."

Marisa gave Reimu a questioning look. "Why? Did someone try and kidnap you again?"

"That might actually have been preferable..." Reimu muttered to herself. "No, but there's a-"

"So that was were you were." A new voice spoke from behind, and both girls turned to face a girl with long, violet hair, and light purple robes that looked more like a night gown, with a matching mop cap decorated with stars. A thick tome was held in the crook of her arm, and she stared somewhat impassively at the two. "Didn't think you would've found that. hell, I forgot it was even there."

Marisa laughed lightly, looking pretty proud of herself. "Yeah, and I would've made my escape if this spanner here hadn't appeared in my works." She said.

_Does Patchouli even care that you were hiding out in here?_ Reimu wondered.

"So Patchy, whatcha gonna do now, ze?" Marisa asked cheerfully. "Gonna challenge me again? That didn't go too well the first time!"

"Lady Remilia summons me," Patchouli replied. "She says that there are visitors we must all meet. Not you." Patchouli directed the last statement to Reimu, who wore a 'yeah, obviously' look.

"So I'll let you go for now, Kirisame." Patchouli turned to walk slowly to the stairs that led to the rest of the mansion. "But don't let me catch you taking any of my books."

"See you later then, Patchy." Reimu called after her.

"It's 'Patchouli'!" The librarian called back, leaving Reimu confused. The shrine maiden turned her head to Marisa.

"Why didn't she correct _you?_"

Marisa simply shrugged. "Eh, who cares? Come on, 'bout time I got home and had a bath."

* * *

><p>The two girls flew over the forest of magic, with Reimu explaining to Marisa about the feral youkai that was supposedly roaming the forest, as well as what it had done to Shujiko. Marisa listened with narrowed eyes, looking as if she were ready to kill the youkai for what it was doing.<p>

"And you haven't seen it?" Marisa asked, sitting on her broom with both legs hanging from one side. "Its practically disappeared?"

Reimu nodded, looking at the canopy of trees below them. "Seems like it. I hope it hasn't moved to a human village..."

"Hey, don't worry! We'll find that thing and beat it back to sanity!" Marisa said with a confident smile. "For now, why don't we focus on locating it? We have to see if it's still in the forest..."

* * *

><p>Patchouli entered Remilia Scarlet's sizeable study, seeing that almost everyone else was already there. Remilia, Sakuya, and those guests they all had to meet.<p>

"Ah, Patchy! Took your time getting here." Remilia said with a small grin, her retracted vampire fangs still visible.

Remilia, despite her childish appearance, was five hundred years old, and far smarter than she looked. While she may still have her occasional bouts of childishness, she was still a dangerous enemy to have.

"Sorry." Patchouli replied simply, looking at the two guests. One was a smartly dressed man, wearing a polite, yet somehow chilling smile. The other was a girl decorated with so many ribbons that she had to be clogging up her bloodstream in every possible vein. She also looked thoroughly bored.

"Well, my ever so reliable gatekeeper isn't here, but oh well. Let's just start." Remilia said to Artimus, sitting on her desk, an arm propped on her knee, which then allowed the vampire to rest her head upon her hand. Dark, bat-like wings stretched out from her back, framed by what little light escaped the thick curtains of her window.

Artimus bowed low to Remilia, a hand placed over his midsection. "With pleasure, milady."

From behind, Mion simply snorted with derisiveness, earning a scathing glare from Sakuya and Patchouli. Remilia herself ignored Mion, focusing on the man before her.

Remilia wasn't sure what it was, but something about him seemed... off. He had a mysterious air around him that would distinguish a person even in Gensokyo. She didn't trust Artimus at all.

"I came here to ask for the help of the 'Scarlet Devil'." Artimus began. "I have heard of your power, and I was hoping you could lend that strength to our cause."

Remilia grinned with amusement as she leaned forward, her scarlet eyes flashing. "Oh? You want my help? Mind telling me why I should bother helping you?"

"Wow, what a stuck-up brat..." Mion muttered, and Sakuya stepped forward, glaring at Mion.

"I would appreciate if you mind your tongue in my Lady's presence." She said threateningly, a hand placed in her pocket, where a knife lay.

Remilia waved Sakuya away lazily, glancing at Mion with a small smile.

"I'm sorry, miss, it appears I have offended you in some way," Remilia said to Mion, hopping of the table. At her full height, Mion was at least two heads taller than the vampire, so any attempt at intimidation was going to be a failure on Remilia's part. "Is there anything else you feel you should share?"

Mion glared at Remilia for a moment, then glanced at Artimus, who gave her a warning stare. With a sigh, Mion said, "No. Go back to talking."

"Do not assume you can order Remi around," Patchouli warned, gripping her tome tightly. "Know your place, girl."

Mion wanted very much to beat the hell out of the three idiots Artimus was talking to. They pissed her off with their stupid arrogance! Hell, they weren't even the reason they were here! Whether or not they cooperated was irrelevant. Artimus had another goal in mind.

* * *

><p>Reimu and Marisa landed in front of the latter's house. While the shrine maiden would very much prefer heading for her shrine, Marisa insisted on stopping by to pick up her 'revision notes'. Essentially, it was a notebook of spells Marisa had seen and wanted to replicate. It was absolutely filled with spells she had either mastered already, or was close to it.<p>

Reimu waited outside, arms crossed as she impatiently waited for Marisa. Her eyes scanned the forest around her, hoping the feral youkai wasn't about to jump out at her. She had been vaguely aware of it for a while, but it only now hit Reimu that she had left her Orb back at the shrine like an idiot. Granted, she still had some charms stashed within her robes, but those were nothing more than mere distractions without a real offence to back them up.

There was a rustling to her left, and Reimu immediately whirled around, ready to face whatever was coming her way. Large leaved and flowers annoyingly blotted her view, leaving the identity of whoever was approaching obscured until she emerged.

Reimu sighed with relief when it turned out to be Alice, followed by one of her dolls, that 'unique' one Reimu couldn't remember the name of. 'Shaun Guy', maybe.

"Is Marisa home?" Alice asked.

_Nice to see you as well, Alice._ Reimu thought. "Yeah, she's just picking up something, then we're leaving."

"Why?"

"Uh... the feral youkai, remember? I don't want Marisa hanging around in here until it's been dealt with," Reimu replied. "In fact, I was just gonna come get you, too."

Alice made a small 'hmph' sound, looking pretty annoyed.

"I don't need to be babied by you, Hakurei," Alice said. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."

"Perfectly capable!" Alice's doll reiterated, fluttering around her master's head.

Reimu blinked, somewhat taken aback. "Uh... I wasn't saying you can't. But I think staying outta the forest would be safer."

"How? If there was a feral youkai running around, there should be a lot more corpses littering the trees." Alice said coldly, and Reimu found herself growing angry. What the hell was Alice's problem? She shows a bit of worry, and she's treated like a liar?

"Then you tell me what hurt Shujiko!" Reimu replied hotly. "Because it sure as hell wasn't a Danmaku duel!"

"It was simply a rogue. A criminal." Alice shrugged. "Someone who maybe hates youkai or- HEY!"

Reimu had suddenly lunged at Alice, tackling her to the ground. Alice thought the shrine maiden had lashed out in a rage or something, and while the miko was certainly tempted, it wasn't the reason she had thrown them both to the ground.

A figure had leaped overhead just as they fell, barely missing the two of them. Reimu immediately scrambled to her feet, a charm in each hand a she stared at a silver haired girl, who was crouched on all fours, wearing ragged clothing and grinning sadistically, with impossibly sharp teeth. Dried blood coated her teeth, shirt and hair, and her eyes stared hungrily at the girls.

"Meal time," Kat growled, standing tall. "Kathy, want food."

Alice stared, wide-eyed, at the feral youkai, disbelieving. She really existed?

"Get up!" Reimu spoke in a hushed voice, not taking her eyes away from Kat. "Did you bring any spellcards?"

"I...uh..." Alice mumbled as she shakily got to her feet. "J-just my 'Cursed Shangai Doll'.

"Well, get ready to use it." Reimu replied, mentally willing Marisa to hurry up and return. How long did it take to find a goddamn list? Of course, since it was located in Marisa's house, it could takes weeks of careful excavation to find...

With a ferocious growl, Kat leaped at Reimu, who hurriedly tossed her card at Kat.

Instinctively, Kat caught the card in her teeth, practically shredding the thing instantly, but Reimu was able to salvage some magic power from the card before it was totally destroyed, and forced a small shock of static magic from the card, stunning her temporarily.

Without wasting any time, Reimu produced several more of her charms, and with her spiritual power, surrounded Kat with several of the cards.

_I may not have much of an offence, but at least I can offer support..._ Reimu thought. "Evil Sealing Circle!"

The cards began to emit purple sparks of electricity, connecting each card with the magic force before shooting tendrils of the energy at Kat, ensnaring the snarling youkai. As Kat howled and pulled against the force of the magic, Reimu turned to Alice, who still looked shaken.

"Go on! Knock her out!" Reimu ordered.

"Huh? But I... why don't you?" Alice stammered, trying to look commanding.

"Cluster Star!" Marisa's voice called from her front door, and a large cluster of bullets dropped from the sky onto Kat. the star shaped bullets disappeared after a moment, leaving her crumpled body on the ground.

Marisa marched to Reimu and Alice, hakkero in hand and looking very pissed off. "That thing came here? You two all right, ze?"

Reimu nodded in confirmation, and glanced at Alice, who was looking somewhat embarrassed and wasn't meeting Marisa's eye.

Marisa turned to watch Kat, who was busy growling softly, with her eyes narrowed. "...That her, huh?"

"I guess so," Reimu replied."So... What do we do now?"

"It's obvious!" Alice replied hotly. "We have to kill her! She's too dangerous to be kept alive!"

Reimu and Marisa glanced at each other uncomfortably, not liking the idea of killing anyone, insane or not. Even if it was for the better, they didn't want to be the one to take a life.

Alice looked from one to the other, and growled in frustration, looking the very opposite of calm and collected. It was as if something had spooked her.

"Oh, fine! Guess I'll have to dirty my hands!" She snapped, and stepped cautiously to the slowly rousing figure. "S-Shangai."

"Yes miss!" Shangai answered dutifully.

Alice gulped, staring warily at Kat. She produced a spellcard from her pocket. "G-get ready. We'll use the lethal setting."

"I must warn you, miss, that the 'lethal setting' is strictly forbidden under the spellcard regulations and could be met with serious consequences when u-"

"Lethal setting, now."

Shangai simply nodded. Although there was no flashy show to display any change, Shangai's abilities were now set to kill.

"Okay..." Alice muttered, while Reimu and Marisa watched, looking very uncomfortable and unsure of what they were doing was right. "Shangai, let's do this..."

* * *

><p>"I aplogise for Mion's behaviour." Artimus said politely, bowing to Remilia once again. "She... didn't have an optimal environment in her upbringing."<p>

Remilia smiled at Artimus, although her eyes flashed darkly. "Oh, I don't mind. Please, let's return to giving me a reason to help you."

Artimus nodded, standing tall.

"Tell me, do you mind a little disorder?" Artimus asked, and Remilia cocked her head to the side slightly, looking only slightly confused.

"'Disorder'? Why do you want to know?"

Artimus smiled widely at the vampire. "Because, I feel that Gensokyo is currently one of the most boring places ever. Everyone's either behaving, or causing such a tiny fuss that nothing ever comes from a resolution. I want to... stir things up a bit."

"Do you now..." Remilia murmured, slowly pacing her study, while Sakuya and Patchouli watched silently. "Well, it sounds interesting and all, but what would I stand to gain from this? After the ruckus dies down, I'll be even less popular than I am right now."

"I never said it would die down," Artimus replied. "That would be boring. We're aiming for a more... eternal time slot."

Remilia laughed heartily at his words, facing him with a condescending grin that prominently displayed her fangs.

"My, you're certainly a big dreamer! But, still not convinced to help. Anything else to say?"

Artimus stared at the young (looking) vampire for several moments, a small smile on his own face.

Finally, Artimus replied, "I suppose there is one more thing."

Remilia folded her arms, listening.

"This world of chaos we seek to build... We believe it would be a great environment for your sister."

The reaction was instantaneous. Remilia had suddenly snarled and lunged at Artimus, several bats apparently flying out of nowhere to merge and reform into a spear, which was held at his throat. Meanwhile, Sakuya seemed to teleport, reappearing behind Artimus with a knife held to his head, watching a surprised Mion carefully, and Patchouli had already produced a spellcard, ready to cast at the smallest provocation.

Remilia had lost all pretence of politeness and good behaviour. Now, she was a predator. No, a very,_ very_ concerned sister as she glared at Artimus, who was infuriatingly calm.

"What do you know of Flandre?" Remilia demanded to know. The vampire couldn't understand how anyone would know of her younger sister, confined to the mansion's basement for the good of everyone. Unless Reimu turned out to be some horrible, gossip-spreading bitch, no one should know of her.

"I know that she is very similar to us," Artimus replied conversationally. "Your sister is fascinated by destruction. She _is_ destruction! Pain and suffering intrigue her too, even though she knows it's 'wrong'..."

"Shut up." Remilia growled, her fangs growing several inches as bloodlust began to consume her. she fought to control her instincts. It wouldn't do to lose her mind over mere words.

Instead, Remilia told Artimus, "I'll never let someone like you corrupt Flandre. She'll never help you in any way!"

"...Then perhaps our talk is over." Artimus said calmly. Slowly, so as not to provoke the vampire, maid or youkai, Artimus reached for Mion's hand, and began to guide them out of the study.

Surprised, Mion stated, "Wait, you're just leaving? You turn Kazami into a garden gnome and you're running from these wea-"

"Fighting them will accomplish nothing," Artimus interrupted. "Just be quiet, Mion."

While Artimus could have battled the Mansion's residents and take Flandre for himself, it was too big a hassle for now. It would only make the younger vampire far less likely to help, and would attract far too much attention at this early stage. No, better to wait for his seeds of anarchy to grow...

Remilia, Sakuya and Patchouli followed the two as they left the mansion, wary of any surprise moves. Luckily for them, Artimus and Mion were leaving peacefully, even if the girl was constantly muttering darkly about 'fleeing from weaklings'.

As they exited the mansion, a slowly rousing Meiling watched them go with confusion, wondering when exactly they arrived.

"Uh... Mistress? Sakuya, Patchouli? What's going on?" Meiling asked, seeing the other residents follow them out.

"We'll speak of your incompetence later, " Remilia spoke in a tone that made her gatekeeper flinch. "For now, shut up and remember to do your job."

Blinking stupidly, Meiling followed the group to the mansion's front gates, where Artimus and Mion simply kept walking, disappearing into the forest. Remilia herself remained at the front door, unable to advance any further due to the sun.

Remilia's scarlet eyes were filled with rage and fear. She could tell the male of the duo was insanely powerful, and that girl mentioned a familiar name, 'Kazami'...

"Sakuya, make sure Meiling is punished for her inadequacy." Remilia spoke at last, turning on her heel to march back inside the mansion, her spear dissolving. Meiling wore an expression akin to a child who had committed a great crime, and immediately regretted the outcome.

As Sakuya stayed behind with Meiling, Patchouli followed her friend as best she could with shorter legs and considerably worse stamina.

"Patchouli, learn every single minute detail you can about those two." Remilia said urgently as she marched through the main hall. "I don't care how, make sure we know every weakness they have."

"O-of course, Remi." Patchouli gasped. She would have to start in the library, where a surprising amount of information on many families of Gensokyo could be found. Although, without any surnames, it was going to be difficult to find anything about the particular 'Artimus' and 'Mion'. In the meantime, maybe she should send Koakuma to investigate in the nearby villages...

Leaving Patchouli to make her way back to the library, Remilia headed for a different set of stairs, far darker, and descending much, much lower.

It took several moments to reach the basement floor, and the young vampire quickly strolled to a large, thick door, locked tightly enough to prevent literally any intruder from entering. Mostly for their own sakes.

Remilia pressed her hand to the door, tracing her cold fingers along the steel frame. She muttered a few words, and the door slowly unlocked and swung open, revealing a very spacious area.

Calming her anger, Remilia entered the room, littered with many, many toys. Some of which were broken in various ways. The bed at the far end was empty, and no one seemed to be inside.

At first, Remilia thought that those two had somehow smuggled her out, but she reminded herself that Flandre may just be hanging from the beams on the ceiling, as she tended to do most of the time.

Sure enough, the tell tale jingling of Flandre's highly unusual wings indicated that the younger Scarlet had noticed her elder sister enter her room. A few seconds later, a figure dressed in bright red, with what looked like multiple gems hanging from a wire frame were wings should be, dropped to the floor.

Flandre, with blonde hair tied into a side-ponytail, and eyes as bright and red as her sister's, smiled widely.

"Remi! You came to play?" Flandre asked happily.

Remilia shook her head. "Sorry, Flan. But not right now."

Flandre's face fell, and she looked somewhat disappointed. "Aw, why not?"

"Flandre, you know it's bad to break things, right?"

Flandre blinked in surprise, and slowly nodded. "Well, yeah, you always say that, Remi, so I try not to."

Remilia looked at the various broken toys scattered around the room. Sure, even if Flandre was trying not to destroy objects, she just couldn't seem to help herself.

"Flandre... what would you do if I wasn't around to tell you it was bad? What if a stranger told you it was okay?"

The younger Scarlet sister gave Remilia a look of confusion and wonder. "Remi, is something wrong?"

Remilia shook her head, forcing a smile on her face. "Nah, I'm just... making sure."

"Well, it hurts that you don't trust me!" Flandre said, turning away from Remilia and crossly folding her arms. A few seconds later, Remi embraced her from behind.

"I'm sorry, Flan." Remilia whispered softly, showing a side to her that almost no one knew about. Flandre was her precious sister, an irreplaceable person in her life. Even if circumstances bound Flandre to a life of confinement, Remilia hated upsetting her sister in any way.

"If you need to know... I... just had a little scare today," Remi continued. "Some bad people told lies about you."

"...Silly," Flandre sighed. "I would never listen to a stranger over your words, Remi. You're never wrong."

Remilia thought of the decision to confine Flandre to this basement at those words. For centuries, Remilia had wondered if it was the right thing to do. After all, Flandre could have learned to control her power, but instead... she may have done more damage, refusing to teach Flandre self control.

"No..." Remilia sighed sadly. "I guess I never am, huh?"

* * *

><p>The creature had moved so suddenly, surprising everyone present.<p>

The second Alice began to activate her spell card, the feral youkai had suddenly swept Alice of her feet with a kick. Alice landed on her back with a pained yelp, while Shangai was left momentarily confused.

Barely a second later, Kat had leaped on top of Alice, grinning maliciously as her hot breathe washed over the stunned doll master, who was staring dumbly at Kat with wide, frightened eyes.

Marisa had pointed her hakkero at Kat, eyes filled with anger. No way in hell was that thing hurting any of her friends! Now, she had less than a second to think of a spell she had that wasn't explosive enough to injure Alice as well, while Reimu tried to set up another Sealing Circle with the little time they had before Kat made her move.

Fortunately for them, another party had decided to intervene. Just as Kat was about to sink her teeth into Alice's neck, a large chunk of ice struck her head. Immediately, she leaped away from the stunned Alice, facing the trees where the ice had come from.

Before her stood an ice fairy, wearing a determined, but slightly worried expression, as if she were just now reconsidering making herself known.

"C-Cirno?" Reimu gasped, pausing in her spell set up. "What's she doing here?"

"So, you're the 'feral' youkai everyone's talking about?" Cirno said to Kat with a fairly even voice. "Heh, I knew I meet you someday! Now I can free this forest of your evil!"

_You didn't even believe me!_ Reimu thought in disbelief. Behind Cirno, still hiding in the trees, were Rumia and Daiyousei, who both were much less adept at hiding their fear.

Kat growled at Cirno, rising on her feet. "No interrupt! Want lunch, now!"

Alice sat up shakily, staring at Kat in pure terror. It was an expression neither Reimu nor Marisa had ever expected to see on her, but it wasn't unexpected. After all, if it weren't the annoying fairy, they may not have saved her in time.

"Take this! Icicle Fall!" Cirno called, and large, pointed spears of ice seemed to erupt from Cirno's back, curving and aiming for Kat, who leaped from side to side, evading the spell.

Marisa took her chance. She ran closer, dodging a few of the icicle's herself as she neared Kat. Reimu shouted for her to return, but Marisa pressed onwards, her hakkero glowing with power once again.

The feral youkai didn't seem to notice Marisa until they were practically face to face. Pressing her tool to Kat's face, Marisa screamed, "Cosmic Lancer!"

A pure, white light erupted from the Hakkero, blasting the crazed creature in the face and sending it flying skyward. Howls of pain and rage could be heard as it was sent careening higher and higher, until the spell lost momentum and Kat began to fall a considerable distance away from the group.

Reimu watched, wide eyed, as Kat disappeared amongst the trees, before slowly making her way to Alice, who still looked frozen. Shangai was hovering above her, unsure of what to do.

"Hey, are you okay?" Reimu asked softly, offering her a hand.

Alice glanced at Reimu for a second, before slapping her hand away, a bright flush on her face.

"I don't need your help!" She spat, and Reimu stepped back, shocked. "I... I could've stopped her myself! I don't help from anyone! Especially a stupid fairy!"

"Your gratitude is appreciated." Cirno responded angrily. Rumia and Daiyousei emerged from their cover to calm Cirno down before she started another fight.

"A-Alice... Calm down, you were just taken by surprise," Reimu said uncertainly. "Anyone would be scared if they-"

The doll master rounded on Reimu, furious. "I wasn't scared! I don't get scared, okay?"

_She's lost it!_ Reimu thought, unsure of what to do. Marisa stepped forward, glaring at Alice as she grabbed her shoulders.

"Shut up. Now." Marisa said monotonously.

"Why should I?"

"Because you're being an insufferable bitch right now." Marisa responded, and Alice stared dumbly at her, as if she never expected Marisa to say that to her.

"Good. Now, mind telling us why you're freaking out like this?"Marisa said, ever so slightly gentler. "I promise we won't judge you."

Alice hesitated a few moments, then shook her head. She pushed herself from Marisa's grip, looking pretty conflicted.

Shangai chose this moment to narrate what Alice was most likely thinking. "If only she could admit to her feelings, things would be easier, but to admit would mean facing fears that prove impossible to conquer, and my master can never accept her fears-"

"Shut up," Alice squeaked, her hands clenched and shaking. "I... don't fear anything! I'm part youkai, I don't have anything to fear!"

Suddenly, Alice turned and rushed from the scene, storming through the foliage.

"Alice! Come back!" Reimu called after her. Even if it was a different direction, the feral youkai had still been blasted somewhere in the forest, and walking around alone was the epitome of idiocy. Just what the hell was Alice so worked up about?

Marisa stared silently at the retreating Alice, trying to figure that same thing out herself. Even if she had become friendly with the other resident witch of the forest, there was still a hell of a lot she didn't know about her. Like why she left Makai, or her exact heritage. She gave the feeling of being both human and youkai... And that 'part youkai' statement kind of proved that.

"Reimu, you go on ahead, I'll drag Alice back to your shrine with me." Marisa said, beginning to follow after Alice.

"What? But it's dangerous, with that thing still around!" Reimu protested, and Marisa let out a chuckle as she faced Reimu, a confident grin on her face.

"Oh come on! You saw me blast the crap outta her! She'll be out cold for a while! And besides, if she attacks again, I'll just kick her ass again! Now go on, ze."

Reimu wanted to protest more, but it seemed pointless. After all, Marisa was pretty damn stubborn, and Reimu doubted Alice wanted to see her at all. Best to let Marisa handle that...

Another tinge of jealousy, which Reimu tired to ignore. there was nothing to be jealous of, right? Marisa was just going to talk to her...

When Marisa left, Reimu noticed that Cirno and her friends were still there, as well as Shangai. Surprised, Reimu asked the doll why it wasn't accompanying Alice.

"Master's tone indicated she didn't want my presence," Shangai replied, as sadly as it could with a perpetually cheerful tone. "I am also concerned that my attempts to cheer my master up would backfire horribly."

"Oh... well, you should come with me. Alice'll know where you are when she wants to find you," Reimu said uncertainly, and turned to Cirno. "And you three? How'd you know it was here?"

"Because we were waiting to ambush y-" Cirno immediately began, and Daiyousei slapped her hand over Cirno's mouth, muffling the list of her reply. When Reimu folded her arms and gave them a stony glare, Rumia tried to salvage the reply.

"Uh... youkai! Yeah, Cirno was lying in wait for youkai! As in, the feral one. And it worked!"

Not believing them for a second, Reimu simply shrugged. "Fine. By the way, might wanna leave the forest. She's still alive, and I doubt she'll have forgotten about you."

Cirno simply 'hmph'ed. "As if I would be afraid of that freak! I totally had her in my mercy!"

"Even though you only provided a distraction for Kirisame to attack..." Daiyousei muttered quietly.

Rolling her eyes, Rimu took to the air, with Shangai following close behind. For some reason, Reimu couldn't shake the feeling that something weird was going on. Something beyond a mere feral youkai roaming the forest. the shrine maiden could only hope she was being paranoid.


	5. Chapter 5 Fears and Pleas

"So, Artimus, care to explain when exactly we get to start actually spreading chaos and darkness and all that stuff?" Mion grumbled irritably as she followed him through the forest. "Because, so far, we've done nothing but run the worst recruitment campaign to ever exist, and it's getting old already."

Artimus, either not bothered by her constant whining, or just really, really good at hiding his thoughts, simply replied, "We can start tomorrow, I just want to meet one more person."

"Chances of successful recruitment: Ha ha ha, you're implying that there's actually a chance~!" Mion sang in an aggravating tune, which only made Artimus smile.

"Be that as it may, I'd rather take the time to explore our options. No point in making enemies out of perfectly fine recruits."

Mion simply scoffed at those words, and sullenly followed. It was strange, how Artimus could put up with her. Her arrogance and complaints would have driven most others insane long ago. Then again, Artimus was just as rage inducing to Mion as she was to every living being. Where she craved battle, he sought diplomatic venues. Where Mion lusted for immediate carnage, Artimus preferred to bide his time.

Artimus led them to a clearing, where he stopped upon seeing a crumpled figure. "Oh dear."

"What now?" Mion sighed, emerging at his side. Her eyes widened upon seeing the person lying on the ground. "Oh god, Kat!"

Mion immediately rushed to her side, frantically checking her for serious injuries. Kat roused upon hearing Mion's concerned voice, and blinked her eyes open, seeing the silver hair that normally shrouded her master's face partly.

"Oh, you're awake!" Mion squealed happily, pulling Kat into a tight hug, which was heartily returned, the normally sadistic creature now acting like a doted little puppy as she made rough, bark-like sounds, mixed with the occasional purr. "Just what did those horrible, vile bitches do to you?"

"I believe they defeated her," Artimus said simply. "I did tell you, that witch was enough trouble on her own, and I wouldn't be surprised if her friend Hakurei helped out, too."

Mion simply huffed and hugged Kat again. "They just cheated, that's all! Next time, she'll rip their throats out and fornicate with them!"

Artimus shook his head slowly. "My my, that's... disturbing."

Mion simply stuck her tongue out at Artimus, which was mimicked by Kat, before they both climbed to their feet.

"By the way, who exactly is the last person?" Mion asked as she brushed dirt from Kat's clothes, a somewhat meaningless gesture, considering all the blood that coated her clothing.

"An old enemy of mine." Artimus replied, and Mion gave him a weary look.

"Seriously? You're gonna recruit someone that hates you? Remind me how well recruiting your friend worked?"

"Well, it's been several centuries," Artimus shrugged, wearing that annoying smile of his. "And I hear that she only became a bigger enemy to humanity after death, so maybe she can forsake an old rivalry for a common goal."

Mion simply sighed, absent mindedly stroking Kat's hair. "Isn't Artie just the silliest person you know?" She asked quietly, to which Kat nodded.

* * *

><p>Reimu arrived back at her shrine, Shangai hovering near her shoulder, to be greeted by Genji, who was lying on the shrine's patio.<p>

Giving Shangai a curious look, Genji asked, "Um, Reimu... where's Marisa? And what's with that odd looking fairy?"

"Correction, good sir, I am Shangai, one of Alice's beloved dolls," Shangai cheerfully explained. "As for the whereabouts of my master and her secret crush, they are currently still within the forest for personal reasons."

Genji blinked in disbelief at Shangai, while Reimu found herself struggling to contain a fit of laughter. When it looked like the shrine maiden had calmed down enough to speak, Genji asked her what the hell Shangai meant by that.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Reimu said, "Well, it's not what you think it means, they just -" Reimu paused, and glanced at Shangai curiously. Wait... did you just say Alice has a crush on Marisa?"

"Nope!" Shangai replied automatically. "I would never reveal such feelings my master harbours for her fellow witch! Not inadvertently or slyly or sneakily or any other way! It would betray her ability to confide in me when she feels troubled! So, you clearly misheard me!"

"But... you definitely..." Reimu said, feeling herself growing a tad jealous once again. "Is that why Alice is all friendly-like with Marisa, and apparently hates me?"

Shangai remained stationary for a moment, her perpetually cheerful face suggesting that she had somehow frozen, until she finally replied, "I can't say my master hates you, but her feelings for you in general are so mixed and convoluted, it's like trying to decipher scribbles that have been scribbled over!"

"...Lady Reimu, let's move away from a potential love triangle, and focus on why Marisa and Alice are still in the forest." Genji said firmly.

"Oh, yeah... well..." Reimu briefly explained the events from arriving at the mansion to the fight with the feral youkai, where Alice had ran off, followed by Marisa.

"And I don't know what her problem is, exactly..." Reimu mumbled with a frown, staring out at the grounds. "She acted like we'd discovered a huge, embarrassing secret or something."

"Perhaps you did," Genji replied thoughtfully. "Something must have stirred within that girl, something she didn't want anyone to see... well, are you sure that thing won't attack them again?"

Reimu smiled slightly. "Marisa blasted it away, remember? How many times has someone got back up after taking a hit from her?"

Genji chuckled at that. "True... I suppose they'll be safe, but I'd rather they get out of there soon... Well, I'd better see if Miss Ishi is doing okay."

Reimu nodded as Genji turned and lumbered for the room they had placed Shujiko. her wounds had healed nicely enough. Just some scarring that would take a while to fade, but Shujiko should be back up in a day or two, Genji reckoned.

Reimu stared in the direction of the forest, wondering if Marisa and Alice were all right. Despite her assurances that Marisa would easily fend off an attack from any youkai, the fact that this one was insane and aiming to kill was still highly worrying. And Reimu was reluctant to kill her, regardless. Was it right to kill that youkai? No doubt it would continue to kill innocents, but what if there was a way to tame her in some way? Or restrain her, or something...

A speck in the distance caught her attention, and Reimu narrowed her eyes, trying to see who it was. Marisa? No... judging by the silhouette, it was someone else... carrying a scythe?

At first, Reimu couldn't tell who it could be, and considered grabbing her Orb in case it was a hostile youkai or something, then her mind slowly brought to mind the image of a blonde girl who carried a similar weapon. While she was still uneasy about this particular person visiting her shrine, Reimu was at least sure she didn't need to defend herself.

After a few moments, Elly landed on the patio, and Reimu noticed that she looked horrible. Her eyes were slightly red, and her expression was grim, filled with hate. the gatekeeper seemed to glare at Reimu before speaking. "We need to talk."

"Oh, uh..." Reimu said, but Elly only marched passed her, sitting herself at Reimu's table, her scythe laying next to her. Shangai watched in cheerful curiosity as Reimu followed her inside, a bit taken aback by Elly's attitude.

"Make yourself at home," Reimu muttered. "...Want tea or anything?"

"No." Elly said bluntly, and Reimu found herself growing worried. What exactly was going on here? Why would the servant of Yuuka Kazami come flying to her shrine looking like she'd just spent a while crying and lamenting?

Reimu nervously sat across from her, looking concerned. "Uh, Elly, is everything all right...?"

"They beat her," Elly said suddenly, and Reimu was now very concerned. "They managed to beat her, Hakurei. And I... I can't beat them alone!"

Elly looked at Reimu pleadingly, her eyes shining with fresh tears. "Please! I know you're not as strong as Yuuka, but there's no one else to turn to!"

"...You might want to start at the beginning?" Reimu suggested, who wasn't sure of she should feel offended at the 'weaker than Yuuka' comment, or flattered that she was second choice to that person. But if Elly had to come to Reimu about defeating somebody who had beaten Yuuka in a fight...

With a deep, shuddering breathe, Elly recounted the visit from the strange people. One, a smartly dressed guy who apparently knew Yuuka from long ago, a girl who seemed to have a ribbon fetish, and a feral creature that acted like her pet.

Reimu listened, utterly shocked, as Elly explained how Yuuka had been offered to help 'bring chaos' to Gensokyo, only to refuse him and end up fighting the girl.

"That girl... I think she was called 'Mion'..." Elly muttered bitterly. "I don't know what it is, but I feel like there's something horribly off about her..."

"...Can you elaborate?" Reimu asked, dreading any more bad news. It was already bad enough that the feral youkai was apparently the pet of two insane, powerful enemies. How much more crap was going to be piled on?

"I don't know, okay!" Elly snapped irritably. "All I know is, her strength felt much lower when I fought her, but she was strong enough to pull a meteor out of nowhere and severely drain my master's energy!"

_Wow..._ Reimu thought in wonder. Having thought her before, Reimu could tell that beating her wasn't exactly easy. Sure, Reimu technically did that twice, but it had felt like Yuuka was merely playing around those two times. And if her comments were any indication (Something to the effect of, _"If only I could use my full power without being too broken to fight against!"_), she had way more power than Reimu could probably handle.

Elly then reluctantly explained the ending, where Yuuka was about to finish off the girl, but then she somehow turned to stone, and the weird guy made his appearance again, spoke with Yuuka, and they simply left.

"Before she was fully consumed, " Elly began, her face cast down, knuckles white from tightly clenching the table. "She told me to get my revenge on them. and I will, but I can't do it alone... That's why I came to you."

Reimu was speechless for several moments, unsure of what to say. Could she really handle opponents that could beat Yuuka Kazami, of all people? While Reimu certainly believed she was pretty damn strong, these two sounded... like they were simply on a completely different level.

"This is indeed worrying..." Genji muttered, having approached unnoticed. "Elly, was it? I am sorry for your loss, but-"

"I haven't lost her!" Elly yelled, startling everyone present. "She'll come back when I kill that bastard, I know it! I only need you to help me take him down!"

_Please don't go insane, I really don't need a scythe wielding maniac in my shrine..._ Reimu thought nervously. "Well, even if she can be rescued, we're talking about fighting someone who defeated your master!"

"Through cheap methods!" Elly argued. "And why are you so scared of him, Hakurei? You should be looking forward to fighting him!"

Reimu was surprised by this statement. "Huh? Why would I be? He turns people into garden gnomes! Why would I enjoy that?"

Elly glared at the shrine maiden, looking furious. "Yuuka told me a lot about you, you know." She muttered. "She deduced through your fight that you love battle, you think you're awesome, and that you can solve any Incident. Alone, if you have to."

"Well, I-"

"And she respected you," Elly continued. "She admired your strength, even though you were limited by your mortality, you were one of the few people Yuuka considered a friend."

"That's... flattering, I guess, but-"

Elly cut her off once again, "So why? Why can't you do it this time? Do you really believe that you're so weak? That you're so powerless? Even if you had others helping you?"

Reimu blinked dumbly at the gatekeeper, completely at a loss for words. Genji himself looked somewhat surprised, although he recovered quickly enough.

"Miss Elly, please think rationally. You have told us some shocking news. It's a bit hard to fully process."

Elly only turned her head away from the two, feeling horribly let down. She had expected the shrine maiden to instantly agree and go kick some ass, maybe pick up the witch and her ghost master (Where was she anyway? Elly heard she lived in this shrine now), and proceed to blow the ever-loving hell out of him and his cohorts. For Reimu to actually show concern... it was like admitting defeat.

* * *

><p>"Alice! Come on out, ze!" Marisa called, hammering on the locked door of her house. Still no reply. Marisa wasn't sure how long it had been since Alice ran back here and locked herself inside like a baby, but it already felt like a decade.<p>

Marisa sighed in frustration, pacing back and forth before hammering the door again. "Get. your. Stupid. Ass. Out. **Now**!"

When Alice still continued to ignore her, Marisa began to charge her hakkero with her magic. "Last warning, otherwise your door's gonna get _very_ intimate with my Master Spark!"

Marisa gave her five seconds before pointing the hakkero at her door. After another five, the door clicked, and slowly opened to reveal a scowling Alice.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Marisa asked with a grin, her hakkero de-powering.

"Leaving me alone is much easier," Alice replied. "So, would you please go away?"

Marisa simply marched past Alice and into her home, casually tossing her broom onto an armchair and seating herself on Alice's sofa. "Nah."

Alice closed her door and followed, looking incredibly irritated. Marisa analysed the doll master, trying to determine what had got her so upset. Marisa was fairly confident that coming close to having your face eaten contributed a lot, but she had a feeling there was more to it. Something else had troubled her, and she wanted to know.

"Well? Spill it out!" Marisa urged. "Why the craziness back there?"

"None of your business." Alice replied stiffly, moving to her workshop. Marisa simply rolled her eyes.

"Sure it is! We're neighbours!"

Alice wordlessly fiddled with the arm of a doll she was currently building, a frown on her face. "...Is that all I am to you?"

"Huh?"

"A 'neighbour'? Is that all we are?" Alice asked, keeping emotion out of her voice, and Marisa frowned in confusion.

"Well... I guess not..."

Alice simply snorted and focused on twirling the little doll arm in her hands. Marisa wasn't quite sure what Alice was asking that question for. After all, Marisa did like her. Was it the wording?

_Jeez, this is harder than I thought it'd be..._ Marisa thought. She seemed to have a huge problem just calling someone a 'friend'. Even though the witch knew she was free to like anyone she wanted, Marisa always had this fear that she would disappoint someone with her choice of friends. Even if that specific someone really didn't care who she liked, and wasn't even around to make a judgement at the moment, anyway.

"...Look, Alice, I'm... worried, okay?" Marisa tried. "I... don't like seeing you distressed. It bugs me."

Alice glanced at Marisa for a moment. "Does it now?"

"Yeah! It, uh... doesn't suit you!" Marisa continued, turning her head to hide the blush forming on her face. "I want you to, you know, tell me things that annoy you, or something like that. I'll see if I can help or something..."

Alice fiddled with the doll arm for another moment, before sighing, dropping it and rising to her feet. Walking to the sofa, she sat beside Marisa, keeping her distance and her gaze averted.

"How much do you like me?" Alice asked, and Marisa looked startled at the question.

"Eh?"

"How much? As much as Haku... Reimu?"

Marisa blinked in confusion, unsure of how to answer that. "Uh, yeah, I guess? I mean, I've known her longer, but, uh... I dunno?"

Alice simply sighed, shaking her head. "Forget it, that's not what's bothering me."

"Oh. Thanks for the relevant questions, ze..." Marisa muttered, looking somewhat annoyed.

Alice glanced at her ceiling, where two dolls were floating, as if they were listening in. Not that they had to, since they already knew everything did.

It felt so easy and natural, talking to her dolls. They listened intently, for one, even if that was part of their programming. They didn't judge her. How could they? Despite her research, the only doll to even have anything resembling a will was Shangai, and with any luck her newest doll would be a bigger success.

But with anyone else... It was too much. How could she confess her fears, her desires to strangers? Growing up in Makai as a normal human, she had a rather rough upbringing. The demons that resided there were, put simply, utter dicks. And, just because the world hated her for some weird reason, their attitudes to humans didn't change for the better until after the attempt on her life by some radical, which necessitated the conversion to becoming part youkai.

Alice had... very mixed feelings about that change. On the one hand, she was grateful to Shinki, the ruler of Makai, for even bothering to save her, and had even cared for the young doll master for a little while after ward, but it was difficult, adjusting to her new life.

Faced with the prospect of a relatively enormous life span, it made Alice feel somewhat overwhelmed. She had expected to live like a normal human (barring accidents or murder attempts), and suddenly gaining a couple hundred years worth of life was more than a little unsettling.

Alice shook her head, dispelling the memories that floated around her head. She preferred not to dwell on them. And if she did, she could just confide to one of her dolls, spill her feelings out. Confessing anything to Marisa still felt beyond her, but she should at least clarify her actions back at her fellow witch's house.

"Um... The reason I acted... well..." Alice began.

"Scared?" Marisa suggested, and Alice reluctantly nodded.

"That. It's just... I thought I was..."

"Gonna die?"

Alice merely nodded, looking ashamed. Marisa noticed, and grinned widely, throwing an arm over her shoulder. "That's what got you all upset, ze? Jeez, Alice, that's nothing to feel ashamed about!"

"But I-"

"Look, it's natural to fear death! I might've had a ghost for a master, but the idea of dying still frightened me when I was a kid! And the last thing I want to do, even now, is die!" Marisa continued. "Too much to experience, you know?"

"Marisa, I-" Alice started again.

As if she couldn't hear Alice, Marisa spoke once again, "So you faced death in the face back there, so what? I don't think any differently of ya, ze! Sure, you coulda been a bit more calm about it, but-"

"You do't know what death is like!" Alice cried out, silencing Marisa. Clenching her hands tightly, Alice inhaled shakily, staring at the floor.

"... I've died once before, you know," Alice said silently. "Quite a while ago. Shinki saved me, and made me a youkai. So I shouldn't feel scared about it, but..."

Alice forced the tears not to fall. She didn't want to cry in front of Marisa. "All I remember about dying was... this weird feeling of emptiness. No air, no sound, no sound, no colour... Not even black and white! Just this... nothingness that I can't understand."

Marisa looked amazed, and completely lost for words. Alice continued, sounding like she was ready to break down any second. "It scares me, Marisa. It scares me to think there's nothing at all when we die. As if lives aren't worth anything! I... have to live centuries before I die, and for what? For it to all mean fuck all in the end!"

Unable to contain herself, Alice buried her face in her hands and sobbed silently, while Marisa appeared frozen, her grin replaced with open mouthed shock.

"But... Alice, what about Hakyugokorou?" Marisa asked. "I thought that was the other world?"

Alice sniffled, moving her hands so she could speak in a slightly clearer voice. "I know... I told Shinki when she revived me, and she said I should've at least seen something. For absolutely nothing to await me... why? What'll I do if I really don't have an afterlife?"

Marisa was quite sure that she was far from qualified to counsel Alice about her existentialism, but since the witch didn't know of anyone who specialised in this kind of thing, she should at least attempt to comfort her friend.

"If you're really so worried about it..." Marisa said, her confidence and optimism slowly returning. "Let's go make sure you do have an after life waiting ahead of ya!"

"How?" Alice sniffed, feeling embarrassed about her breakdown.

"Easy! We go get Shinki, make her talk to whoever runs Hakyugokorou, and if anyone says you have nothing after death..." Marisa grinned devilishly. "I'll personally see to it that whoever decides that crap changes their mind, ze."

Alice stared at Marisa in amazement, before a smile slowly spread across her face and she began to giggle.

"I guess that'll do," Alice laughed, wiping her tears on the sleeve of her blouse. "So, after we resolve this whole feral youkai thing?"

Marisa nodded her agreement, and hopped to her feet, grabbing her broom and then extending a hand to Alice.

"Well, come on. I think we kept Reimu waiting long enough, huh?"

"I suppose... and I should apologise to her too..." Alice muttered, taking Marisa's hand as she rose to her feet. Blushing slightly, she allowed Marisa to lead her back outside, before mounting her broom.

"Wanna race?" Marisa asked with a wide grin.

Returning her fellow witch's smile with one of her own, Alice replied, "Sure, let's go!"

They both took to the air, rapidly ascending, before shooting off in the direction of the shrine, blissfully unaware of the bombshell being dropped by Elly at approximately the same time.

_Well, I didn't tell her everything, but it's a start..._ Alice thought to herself, glancing at Marisa as they raced. The next difficult confession would be her... feelings, for the black-white witch. But confessing was going to be difficult, especially if Marisa really cared for Reimu more...

* * *

><p>"Look, Elly... I never said I wouldn't help, but I really don't see how I can succeed," Reimu said to the gatekeeper, who was now about to leave the shrine. "From what you're saying, I would need to be a god to accomplish this!"<p>

"Come on, surely you're aware of all that power you've got!" Elly snapped back. "Or are mortals completely incapable of using it?"

"The problem isn't Lady Reimu's power, " Genji intervened irritably. "It's the fact that we're dealing with a very, very powerful group of killers here. That isn't exactly the norm around here."

"Whatever. If you're just gonna wuss out, then I'll get someone else." Elly said, and was about to take off when Reimu grabbed her wrist tightly, preventing her from leaving.

Elly glared at Reimu, trying to pull away. "Let go!"

"Listen to yourself," Reimu muttered, returning Elly's glare. "You sound insane. I don't know you all that well, but I never saw you as suicidal."

Elly attempted to pull free from Reimu's grip once again. "I'm not! Why d'you think I'm getting help?"

"Getting one or two people on your side won't be enough!" Reimu growled, tightening her grip on Elly's wrist. "All the fire power in the world is useless if we get petrified or flattened by a meteor! We need a plan here!"

Elly gave up trying to pull free, and simply touched down to the ground again, although she still looked angry as she faced Reimu. "Fine then, what's your plan?"

"Uh..." Reimu wasn't sure how to answer that. After all, how could she formulate a plan to counter unknown magic she hadn't seen before? "Hey, Genji, have you heard of 'Chaos Arts' before?"

Genji shook his head. "Afraid not, and that puzzles me. Something this dangerous I really should know about..."

_Great..._ Reimu thought. So even Genji's stumped. _How do we go about fighting this kind of magic?_

"Hakurei, are you gonna stop holding my hand now?" Elly asked, and Reimu dropped her wrist, pacing back and forth, replying, 'Just 'Reimu' will do'.

"Okay... well, first off, some allies would be nice," Reimu began. "Preferably people who are a bitch to kill and pack a ton of power..."

Genji glanced at the room where Shujiko slept. "Perhaps Miss Ishi could help once she recovers? At her best, she should stand a chance..."

"And Remilia Scarlet has that weird trick where she can regenerate from a bat..." Reimu continued thoughtfully. "And isn't too bad in a fight... not sure if we should ask about her sister, though... Oh! Her maid can teleport around and stuff, that should be useful!"

Elly listened as Genji and Reimu suggested a bunch of people she didn't really know, feeling somewhat better now that they seemed to be willing to help her fight. And if all these people they were talking about actually came by to help, there was no way they could lose!

From outside, a voice called, "Hey hey, what's going on out here, ze?"

Everyone's heads turned to see Marisa and Alice arrive. Shangai immediately flitted to her master's side, who smiled to her doll and apologised for leaving her with Reimu.

Marisa shouldered her broom and approached, glancing at Elly with a raised eyebrow. "Well well, if it isn't Ellen! What brings you here? Yuuka kick you o-"

Reimu immediately rushed to Marisa side and clamped a hand over her mouth, preventing her from continuing. Elly simply stared at Marisa as Reimu dragged her away, whispering into her ear, "I'll explain later, but keep quiet!"

"Why?" Marisa mumbled, trying to pull out of her grip. Reimu let go, wiping her hand on her uniform as she glanced at Elly. "Yuuka's... kind of stone right now. I'll explain it to you later, okay? Right now, we have to deal with those three lunatics."

Marisa blinked dumbly at Reimu for several moments before replying, "Uh, what exactly did we miss?"

"A whole load of bad news." Reimu sighed.

* * *

><p>"Hm, how odd. I could have sworn she was living here..." Artimus muttered thoughtfully.<p>

The chaotic trio had approached the boundary of the shrine, making sure to keep far enough away that their presence wouldn't be picked up upon. Artimus' final recruit was supposed to be living there, but it seemed whoever he was looking for was absent.

"Who? You haven't filled us in on who you want with us." Mion grumbled, hating the idea of doing nothing while most of their enemies had gathered in one place. Kat certainly didn't seem too happy either, seeing as several of her targets were located at the shrine too.

"But her presence... why can I still feel it? It's faint, but..."

With a sigh, Mion interrupted Artimus. "Ex-po-si-tion! Enlighten us as to who we are looking for!"

Artimus glanced at the silver-haired girl, as if just noticing she had spoken. "Didn't I say? I could have sworn I mentioned her."

"Yeah, you've told us that she's a ghost with awesome power and used to be a baddie and all that jazz, but you've deliberately withheld her name! Why, do you think you're leading up to a grand plot twist? Well, it's gonna fall flat if whoever you're looking for isn't around!"

Artimus simply stared at Mion for several moments before chuckling lightly.

"Hm, guess I was acting a bit aloof, there..." He muttered. "Sorry, it's just that saying her name had a tendency to bring a storm of terror upon you back in the day."

Mion gave him a questioning look, which he returned with an amused smile. "Then again, perhaps I don't have too much to fear from Mima now. I hear she calmed down considerably rather recently."

"You hear a lot of things, don't you?" Mion muttered rhetorically, before glancing in the direction of the shrine again. "So, what now? I take it we do nothing?"

"Precisely," Artimus replied. "Come tomorrow, we'll begin spreading fear throughout the villages. I trust you and Kat can handle that?"

"Destroy! End life!" Kat growled enthusiastically while Mion grinned, flicking her hair from her eye.

"We're experts! Don't worry about us!"

Artimus nodded in agreement. "Good. Well, it shouldn't take long before these brave heroines attempt to engage us in earnest. Mion, remember not to engage more than one opponent at a time, okay?"

Mion pouted as she mumbled her agreement. "And Kathy, please refrain from mortally wounding the shrine maiden. Feel free to target her friends though."

Artimus smiled coldly as he continued. "I'm quite interested in seeing just how she would react to seeing her friends systematically brought down before her eyes. Will she fight on, regardless? Or give in to despair?"

"Question: Is our main goal to break the miko's brain, or to corrupt all of Gensokyo?" Mion asked. "'Cause it sounded like you were deviating from our original aims there."

Artimus chuckled again as he turned to leave, flying around the village near the Hakurei Shrine, with the two girls following close behind. "Don't worry, the shrine maiden isn't a top priority. I just thought she'd make a nice addition to the chaos, if she makes the 'right' choice."

* * *

><p><strong>Hm... Guess I should address something here:<strong>

**While I had been writing under the mindset that this story and Tsukuribanashi fit in between the games, it's gonna be very, very difficult to justify how things return to relative normalcy by the next game (Perfect Cherry Blossom, was it?). As I said before, this is going to be slightly darker than normal. Maybe not insanely depressing, because, as I seem to love pointing out, my writing skills are a bit too lacking to successfully make Touhou depressing. Not to say I won't at least attempt some tragedy, but it won't exactly be the pinnacle of grimdark fan fics either.**

**Anyways, I guess I should just consider this an AU to the Touhou games. So, If felt like it, I could basically retcon the games to fit better with my fan fics. If only I thought of that earlier, then I could have let Shujiko star in EoSD... (+1 fanfic idea!)**

**And finally, backstories... I seem to enjoy piling on the misery, huh? Not only do most of my OC's have the whole 'racism' thing attached to their past, but now I'm doing the same to Alice, albeit reversed. I also hear that, canonically, she's supposed to be a bit cowardly, but that kinda clashes with my image of her, so I tried changing that 'cowardice' into something of an understandable fear. As for why she saw nothing when she 'died'?... Hm, depending on how this story plays out, it may end up being a side story to this, but it's too early to tell for sure.**

**As for Elly, again, a tragic back story, as hinted at earlier in the story. That one shouldn't need a separate story to comfortably explain, although I don't want to reveal the full details yet. That's what the good writers do, right? ^.^''**

**Well, I've rambled on long enough. Again, hope you all enjoy this chapter, thanks for reading, and if you have any criticisms, please leave them in the reviews! I'll do my best to improve my writing!**


	6. Chapter 6 Tanks and Hair

No one was moving. No one was breathing. They were there, yet... it wasn't them. Sure, they looked like the villagers she had grown up with, but it couldn't be them, because they were all statues. But why were these statues here? Where were all the real people?

The young, blonde girl fearfully traversed the streets, completely frightened and confused. How had this all happened? She could remember a flash of light that seemed to illuminate the whole village, and she must have fallen asleep somehow. When she came to, the blonde girl had found... this.

Statues of her adoptive father and mother lay next to her, as if the real things had turned to stone. The young girl struggled to comprehend what had happened, and rushed from their little farm home. Foregoing her cheap sandals, the little girl ran barefoot through the village, finding more and more statues with no people.

Finally stopping for breathe, the isolated girl was shaking, tears threatening to pour freely. Nothing made any sense! What had happened? Was this even her village? Everything looked exactly the same, but...

The frightened girl stared ahead of her, seeing someone in the distance. The green hair was indicative enough that it was no one from the village, but she was happy to see another living person regardless. Maybe that person could tell her where she was or what had happened to the villagers?

She took off again, running as fast as her legs would allow. Drawing closer to the green haired woman, the girl began to feel an odd aura that seemed to be emanating from her. Stopping, the blonde girl stared at the green haired woman, wondering just who she was exactly.

The woman, carrying a pink umbrella and wearing a black dress, was staring at the village, a blank expression her face. It took several moments before she seemed to notice the girl, and the smile she gave the girl was chilling.

"A survivor? And a youkai, to boot! Didn't notice you resided here."

The blonde girl blinked, not understanding what she was talking about. 'Youkai'? 'Survivor'? The girl wasn't too sure what the former was, and didn't want to think of the connotations of the latter.

"Guess he can't quite affect non-humans with that spell of his yet," The woman said to herself, stepping towards the girl. "Well, come here, little one, why don't we get acquainted?

Immediately, the young girl felt a sense of danger. No matter what, she didn't want to come any closer to that woman.

Shaking her head furiously, the frightened child took a step back, before turning on her heel and sprinting, ignoring her tired limbs and aching lungs.

The woman only grinned widely as the girl ran for her life. Hide and seek was always so much fun!

"Ready or not, here I come, little one~" She called cheerfully, which only caused the girl to cry.

* * *

><p>Elly awoke with a start, unsure of what was going on. Why was her bed so hard? And what was under her sheets? Other's legs? Scrambling to her feet, her hip struck something hard, and cursed silently, crawling out of the kotatsu.<p>

_...Oh, right._ Elly remembered what had happened yesterday. That battle, with Yuuka turning to stone, and coming to this shrine for help. With nowhere else to go, Reimu was nice enough to at least let her stay, but with the inclusion of Marisa and Alice (and the injured girl taking up Reimu's one spare futon), it had been pretty crowded for her tastes. Shangai had it easy. She could simply sleep on top of the kotatsu. In fact, it was more like Alice simply switched her off.

Neither witch seemed disturbed by the small commotion Elly had made in waking up, thankfully enough. She had an idea that Kirisame would raise a shit storm if she was woken prematurely. The other one... would probably bitch for a while.

Elly climbed to her feet, yawning. It was incredibly cold, and with good reason. The shrine didn't seem to protect well against the wind, even when closed down, and Elly was only in a vest and underwear. Reimu didn't possess more than three sets of nightclothes, two of which fit those other two far better than the smaller Elly, and one worn by Reimu herself.

_Just... what was I dreaming about?_ Elly wondered. She couldn't quite remember exactly what had happened in that dream, although she was quite sure it took place in a human village. Not one from Gensokyo, but fairly similar...

"Can't sleep?" Someone spoke, and Elly flinched, turning to face whoever spoke, and seeing only Genji, laying next to an alter in which Reimu's Orb thing was perched.

"...Guess not." Elly muttered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Try Lady Reimu's bathrobe," Genji suggested, noting how cold she looked. "It's a few sizes too big, but it'll keep you warm."

Muttering her thanks, Elly searched Reimu's bathroom, emerging a few seconds later with a large, fluffy robe covering her. Despite the size, it was warming her up quite well.

Seating herself next to the kotatsu, Elly asked the old turtle, So why're you up?"

"Thinking," Genji replied simply. "This is quite the Incident we've landed with. It's been at least two hundred years since an opponent like this emerged."

Elly gave Genji a curious look. "What was that guy like?"

"Not pleasant," Genji replied with a sigh. "Lady Arianna was the Shrine maiden at the time, and she died stopping the lunatic. Poor Lady Relena, losing her mother at such a young age... but then, that seems to be a hereditary curse on this family."

"... D'you think Reimu can take that guy?" Elly asked, now wondering if she had done the right thing in asking them for help.

Genji only made a 'hm' sound, and thought it over for several moments. "I don't know, really. Lady Reimu has shown immense talent, more than most of her ancestors, but she barely trains, if ever! Sometimes, she seems to go out of her way to make me worry..."

Elly glanced at the door in which Reimu and Shujiko slept behind. True enough, Reimu was talented, but pretty damn brash and borderline suicidal. She _was_ the one who had invaded Yuuka's home AND fought her way through Makai, and those were just the incidents Elly knew about.

"Still... I've never known Lady Reimu to fail in whatever she sets her mind to," Genji continued, a hint of pride in his eyes. "If she wants an end to this incident, she will end it."

"...I sure hope so," Elly muttered with a small smile. Stifling a yawn, she continued, "Well, suppose I should try and get back to sleep. Night, old guy."

"Hmph. Good night, young girl." Genji replied sarcastically as Elly settled herself back under the kotatsu, struggling to get comfortable with two others sharing the thing.

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Day<strong>

Idly munching on a rice ball, Mion scanned the village she had been assigned too with a hint of annoyance. Why did she have to come all the way out here? It was too far from where their enemies were. Artimus and Kat got to have Villages that were relatively close to either the Hakurei Shrine or that Vampire's Mansion, leaving her with no opposition. That was just boring as hell.

With a sigh, Mion swallowed the rest of her breakfast, licking at her fingers as she wandered to the village centre. A few gave her questioning looks, which was understandable, given that she was heavily dressed with bright red ribbons, and the slight breeze was lifting her miniskirt, which Mion either didn't notice or didn't care about. After all, anyone willing to look was going to die soon enough.

Mion passed a small group of people, and glanced at them briefly, noting a girl with long, scarlet hair and a maid that reminded her somewhat of the one back at the Vampire's home. the girl looked downcast, while the maid offered words of encouragement.

Mion grinned slightly, licking her lips. People were going about their everyday life, unaware of the end that was quickly approaching them. Artimus' plan was about to begin.

* * *

><p>"So, to put it simply, we must be on our guard at all times. No matter what, we can't allow Flandre to leave our sights." Sakuya reminded the residents of the Mansion. Patchouli wore an impassive look, although she was just as serious about defending their Mistress' little sister as the maid. Koakuma looked incredibly nervous, wondering just what she was supposed to do that could help, given that she was essentially the weakest member. Meiling, whom Sakuya had decided to spare from a beating last night, stood to attention, probably desperate not to mess up for the moment.<p>

"U-Um, M-miss Sakuya?" Koakuma said nervously. The head maid had always intimidated Koakuma, even though she was rather friendly most of the time. Being somewhat klutzy, Koakuma had always feared breaking something and suffering Sakuya's wrath, even though she mostly stuck to the library, where it was considerably harder to break a book just by bumping into it.

"What is it?" Sakuya asked somewhat sternly.

Twiddling her fingers together, Koakuma stuttered, "W-well... if these b-bad guys w-w-want to k-k-kidnap m-m-mistress F-F-F-F-F-F-"

Growing impatient, Sakuya said to Patchouli, "Can you translate please?"

"I believe Koa wants to know why exactly we let those two leave when we could have attempted to defeat them then," Patchouli said, glancing over her shoulder at the far taller assistant. "And the reason being, was that their combat prowess was unknown, yet downright overwhelming at once. It was better not to risk starting a battle until we have more data."

Sakuya merely nodded, and turned her head to Meiling. "China, can we trust you to continue guarding the entrance?"

"Of course!" Meiling declared loudly, placing a hand to her chest. "Whether through sleet or snow, cloud or squall, sunshine or rain, I will dutifully guard the manor from any and all-"

"Get to it." Sakuya sighed wearily, and Meiling immediately rushed off, eager to perfectly guard the mansion.

"Okay... Patchouli, Koakuma, you still have some research to do, right?" Sakuya asked, and the two nodded. "Right. Then I'll take over watching over Flandre. I'm sure Mistress is tired from playing with her all night..."

Sakuya headed for the basement, while Patchouli and Koakuma returned to the library. the atmosphere was tense, to say the least.

"Um, Miss Patchouli?" Koakuma said, now sounding a little calmer out of the maid's presence. "Do you still need me to investigate the villages?"

"You might as well," Patchouli replied, stifling a cough. "Our chances of finding records on them anywhere is ludicrously close to zero, but just search for anything vaguely related to those two."

"'Artimus' and 'Mion', right?" The assistant asked, and Patchouli nodded. "And... um..."

"If there's any mention of those names in any record, follow them up immediately, even if it seems completely unrelated." Patchouli instructed, reaching the door to the library. Before entering, the elementalist opened the large tome held under her arm, fishing out a spellcard and handing it to her.

Taking it, Koakuma studied it curiously. "Er, what's this...?"

"Signal Flare," Patchouli told her. "It'll send a flare into the sky, and alert me to its use as well. If you run into any trouble, use it and someone will come running. If not one of us, then maybe the shrine maiden or a random bystander."

_Is this a reflection on my weakness?_ Koakuma wondered sullenly, before pocketing it. She hoped that a simple excursion to a village wasn't about to become a life threatening quest, but what was the worst that could happen?

"Well, I'll be back as soon as possible!" Koakuma promised, and rushed off. Patchouli glanced at the assistant librarian as she left, hoping that nothing bad would happen. Even if she sometimes appeared aloof or disdained with the residents of the mansion, she did care for each of them. And to have Koakuma go out on her own...

Patchouli shook her head and descended the steps to her library. She was being paranoid. Koakuma wasn't a baby, after all. She knew better than to engage far superior opponents in a serious battle, and it wasn't like she would be recognised by those two...

Meanwhile, Sakuya had reached Flandre's underground room, opening it the same way Remilia had done earlier. Stepping into the messy room, Sakuya noted that Flandre had fallen asleep, her bed sheets dishevelled, while Remilia was dozing off in an armchair nearby.

Smiling slightly at the sight of the two vampires sleeping peacefully, Sakuya carefully rearranged the sheets, properly covering Flandre before stepping lightly to Remilia's side and gently shaking her.

"Huh? Wuzzup?" Remilia jerked awake, blearily searching the room until Sakuya swam into view.

"Morning, Mistress. I hope I didn't interrupt any pleasant dreams?"

Groaning softly, Remilia rubbed her eyes and glanced at Flandre, relieved to she was still there. "What is it, Sakuya? You'd better have a good reason for waking me..."

"I only came to bring you to bed," Sakuya replied. "You've been in here all night, and sleeping like that is bad for your growth and posture."

"But I wanna stay here." Remilia grumbled, and Sakuya rolled her eyes.

"I will take care of Flandre for you. Meanwhile, you should rest properly."

"But I'm not tired!" Remilia whined.

Sighing, Sakuya reached out to gently take Remilia's cold, pale hand. "Yes, you are. Now, come on!"

The moment Sakuya finished speaking, Remilia was lying in bed, with Sakuya standing over her, holding a nightgown.

"Cheater!" Remilia grumbled.

"It's for your own good, Mistress." Sakuya said, still smiling. Handing the nightgown to her mistress, the maid turned to leave the room, stopping to say, "Don't worry, I will protect her without fail. Please, just rest."

As Sakuya disappeared, Remilia sighed, lazily brushing her mop cap from her head. She was too tired to bother changing, and she was still worried about those two. They knew of Flandre, and her... explosive tendencies, and wished to utilise them somehow. They were incredibly dangerous, and Flandre needed to be watched constantly now.

_Tch, those idiots think they can use a member of the Scarlet Family?_ Remilia thought as she shut her eyes. _Ha! Just try it, you freaks! I'll... I'll... Ooh, a blood bank!_ Remilia's thoughts were interrupted by rather appealing dreams, and was asleep almost instantly.

* * *

><p>Reimu shambled out of her room, yawning widely. It appeared to be late morning, and Reimu barely registered someone sitting on her patio until she double checked.<p>

"Oh, Alice, you're up?" Reimu asked, stifling a yawn.

Alice glanced behind her, gazing at Reimu. "...Do you always look so unkempt in the mornings?" She asked.

Reimu, with a rather bad case of bed hair and slowly rousing state, frowned. "Hey, I just woke up, okay?"

"And what's with these nightclothes?" Alice continued, tugging at the one she still wore. "It's so tight around my chest, and I'm only a b-cup!"

Reimu folded her arms indignantly, glaring at Alice. "Finished with the insults? I feel like launching a counter attack."

Alice blinked and flushed, and gazed at the floor.

"...It was a joke."

"...What?"

"I..." Alice sighed, and faced Reimu. "I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to you, and I was feeling a bit awkward, so I wanted to... you know, break the ice. I thought if I said what I thought Marisa would say, I dunno, maybe..."

Reimu stared suspiciously at Alice for several moments before saying, "You... thought _Marisa_ would make a good example of ice-breaking comments?"

Alice simply shrugged. "You don't seem angry whenever she says anything about you."

"Well, I've listened to her idiocy for a few years, so I guess I just got used to it." Reimu said thoughtfully. "But that doesn't mean just anyone can say what they want to me, y'know?"

"Sorry." Alice muttered again, and an awkward silence fell between them, not including the snoring from Marisa, or the light breathing from Elly.

Eventually, Reimu simply shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Want some tea or something?"

"Thanks." Alice replied, and Reimu busied herself in the kitchen, returning shortly with two cups of tea. Handing one to Alice, Reimu seated herself next to the doll master, placing her own cup to her side.

Alice simply stared at her own cup, mulling her thoughts over. If she wanted to apologise to Reimu, now was the time. No one else was awake, so there would be no spectators, and it was only a few words...

As Alice raised the cup to her lips, Reimu decided now would be the time to ask, "So, I hear you have a crush on Marisa?"

Finding herself dripping wet with scalding hot liquid spat from Alice, Reimu blinked at the flustered witch, gripping the hem of her night dress tightly. "... So, that a 'yes', then?"

"W-who told you that?" Alice demanded, blushing furiously as she tried to regain her composure.

"Oh, just a guess..." Reimu said vaguely, getting to her feet. "Well, I'ma gonna take a bath now. try not to spit that stuff anywhere else.

Leaving Alice and her own untouched tea, Reimu disappeared into the bathroom while Alice stared after her. The doll master's heart was fluttering wildly as she wondered how someone like Reimu could have noticed. After all, she seemed the type to be completely oblivious to that kind of thing! Just where...

Spotting Shangai still lying the kotatsu, Alice realised where she must have gotten that idea. Sometimes, Shangai would simply blurt out secrets without thinking, and immediately retract it with some sort of excuse. Put simply, it was a glitch in her programming that Alice kept simply because it gave the illusion of personality to the doll. Perhaps there was a downside to that, after all...

Alice picked the slumbering doll up, switching it on with a small infuse of magic. Shangai yawned loudly, blinking up at her master with a bright smile. "Ah, master! Good morning!"

"Shangai. What did you tell Reimu last night?" Alice muttered, and Shangai cocked her head to the side, perhaps thoughtfully.

"um... Many things. Any specific subject?" Shangai asked.

"Personal stuff."

Shangai looked thoughtful again. "Hm... I may or may not have revealed your secret feelings for Marisa Kirisame of the Forest of Magic, a fellow witch who stole your heart when she gracefully defeated you in M-"

"Don't. _Ever_. Reveal. that. Stuff!" Alice growled, shaking the doll with each word.

"As you wish!" Shangai responded cheerfully, as if she weren't in danger of being throttled by her very embarrassed creator. Sighing, Alice lay her back on the kotatsu.

"So, who's got feelings for who?" Marisa asked, and Alice squeaked in surprise, seeing Marisa slowly sit up, a wide grin on her face.

"N-n-no one!" Alice stammered nervously, her blush returning full force. "Y-you misheard!"

Marisa gave alice a sly grin as her golden eyes studied the flustered witch, before shrugging and stretching.

"S'okay. I'll keep your feelings secret." She reassured Alice, who looked somewhat confused.

"Secret?"

"Yeah, didn't you say something about loving Reimu?"

Alice vehemently denied this claim. Her voice, along with Marisa's teasing laugh, roused Elly from her sleep. Grumbling darkly, she crawled forward and climbed to her feet, glaring at her noisy bedfellows. "Mind shutting up? Honestly, fairies aren't as loud and annoying as you two."

Small, yet heavy footsteps could be heard from a corner of the shrine, and Genji lumbered onto the scene, himself looking somewhat drowsy. It seemed he hadn't slept much either. "Awful lotta noise here. What's going on here?"

"Eh, nothing." Marisa shrugged. "Alice is just secretly in love with Reimu, ze."

"You said you wouldn't tell!" Alice yelled back, before clamping her hands over her mouth, realising what she just said. "I-I mean-"

Marisa blinked in surprise at Alice. "You _do_ love Reimu? Heh, I was only kidding before, ze!"

"You've got it all wrong!" Alice said desperately.

Genji only shook his head at the scene. He couldn't remember the last time the shrine seemed so lively. He noticed that Elly was now ignoring the goings-on, and was staring out to the distance. Walking next to the gatekeeper, Genji asked her, "Anything wrong?"

Elly shook her head with a sigh. "No... I dunno. I just... want to avenge Yuuka right now, but I've no idea where to look for those people..."

"...It's best not to rush things," Genji advised. "I understand your torment, Miss Elly, but without a proper plan, I can't see this problem being resolved cleanly."

Meanwhile, Reimu had poked her (dripping wet) head from behind the bathroom door, looking incredibly annoyed. "You two, shut up!" She yelled at Marisa and Alice, then spotted Elly. "Hey! Gimme that robe, I need it!"

Elly glanced at the shrine maiden, before shrugging off the bathrobe and walking over to hand it to her.

"Hey, Reimu! What's with this night gown? It's so tight around my chest!" Marisa called playfully. Giving the witch an annoyed glance, she replied,

"You tell me, that's the one you keep here in case you need to stay the night."

Disappearing into the bathroom, Marisa tugged at the nightgown, which was more baggy than tight, and chuckled. "Heh heh, guess that backfired."

Alice herself stifled a laugh, feeling somewhat proud that she at least could guess rather well Marisa's attitude. A twinge of jealousy ignited within her, but she put it from her mind. Alice wasn't going to hate Reimu over Marisa's feelings, wherever they lay.

* * *

><p>"Hm... Maybe I should just start now?" Mion muttered to herself, glancing at the people walking the streets. She was eager to begin the killing. Kat would most definitely have started by now, and Artimus would be spreading rumours of serial killers throughout the villages too. The first stage of the plan was to instill panic, fear and paranoia. A feral creature and a silver-haired girl, slaughtering indiscriminately. Then, their 'heroes' would attempt to save the day...<p>

_Hmph, not like they'll be coming way out here..._ Mion thought irritably, then sighed. She might as well get started, so she could move on to a village much closer to the shrine, or even that vampire's mansion.

"Excuse me!" Mion said sweetly to a middle aged man passing by. He stopped to listen to whatever Mion had to say.

With a bright, friendly smile, Mion said quietly, "Tell me, do you like the sound of cracking bones?"

"W-what?" the man asked in surprise. Less than a second later, Mion struck the back of his leg, forcing him down to his knees, where she casually gripped his head and twisted sharply, the now lifeless man falling to the ground.

A few villagers had stopped to stare in shock, wondering what had just happened. Mion only grinned sadistically at the onlookers, extending a hand to the sky.

"Eeny, meeny, miney..." Mion lowered her hand, pointing it at a young woman. "You!"

Before the human woman could react, Mion had rushed forward, planting a fist into her stomach. The impact would have sent her flying into the house nearby, but Mion had grabbed her ankle before she was knocked back too far.

Swinging the stunned woman like a bat, she threw her at an elderly man, fatally wounding both of them as they crashed into a nearby fruit stand.

Now people were screaming in terror, attempting to run. Ha! As if they could escape!

Enjoying herself now, Mion targeted a couple, possibly husband and wife. Grabbing both of them by their heads, she brutally smashed them together, cracking each other's skulls, dropping the woman and tossing the man at a bellowing teenage girl.

Spotting a male child sitting there, stunned and wetting himself, Mion slowly walked towards him, a hand outstretched.

"Don't worry, I like kids." Mion whispered coldly. "So I'll kill you really quick, then make sure your parents join you, 'kay?"

The boy only shook his head in horror, and tried to run, but he was practically frozen in fear. Smiling sweetly, Mion wound her arm back to punch the boy into the ground, but was completely blind sided by a kick to her side.

Grunting in pain, Mion crashed into the wall of some other house, and stumbled to her feet, glaring at her attacker.

To her surprise, it was that girl with the freakishly long, red hair, who looked utterly furious. The maid stood protectively in front of the boy, her gaze cold enough to freeze hell over a couple of times.

"You bitch," The red head growled. "This place has suffered enough! What's your reason for all this?"

Brushing some dust off her clothing, Mion stepped closer, gazing analytically at the girl. "Chaos," She replied simply. "So, I guess I get an opponent after all? Hell yes!"

Narrowing her eyes at Mion, she ordered the maid, "Lyra, please get everyone out of here! I'll kick her ass!"

"But, Rena-" The maid, Lyra, began, but Rena cut her off.

"I promise, I won't lose." She said fiercely. "I know I'm putting Christina in danger, but we've already agreed that she must be stopped."

The maid looked like she wanted to argue further, but she knew it was pointless. She would have to make her job quick. "See to it that you survive, okay?"

Picking up the frightened and now crying boy, Lyra quickly flew away, leading other humans away from the ribbon-clad girl.

"...Well, might as well ask who you are," Mion said. "And, more importantly, are you worth my time? I have a village to de-populate."

Rena glared hatefully at Mion. "A monster like you doesn't deserve to know anything other than death. Hope you're pally with whoever runs hell, 'cause that's where you're going!"

"Hm? Oh, was that your scary, witty threat?" Mion asked mockingly, cracking her knuckles. "Okay, here's one of equal quality: You're fucked!"

**Rena, I think you've been out-insaned...** Christina commented from within Rena's mind, trying to sound cheerful despite her disgust, horror and fear.

Rena allowed herself a small smile. "Yeah? Well, as long as it doesn't equate to power, I think we'll be okay."

**But didn't Lyra say that insane woman was the strongest person she ever-**

"Hey, uh, were you just talking to yourself?" Mion asked Rena, who obviously had no knowledge of the whole split personality thing the twin sister's had going on.

"Yes and no." Rena replied, extending her hand and unleashing a storm of bullets at Mion, who swiftly dodged.

Grinning confidently, Mion was about to counter, when she noticed something terribly wrong. Normally, Mion's power would adjust accordingly to her opponents level of strength, essentially giving them equal power, but with this girl... Mion simply couldn't imitate it. This kind of problem only occurred if she tried to fight multiple opponents, but there was only that weird red-head...

Cursing, Mion kept herself aloft, glaring at Rena suspiciously. What was that girl's power? Magic cancellation? Did she have a dynamic strength level too?

Smirking at her opponent, Rena's hair seemed to spring to life, and shoot at Mion like tendrils, rapidly converging upon her. With a look of surprise and disgust, she desperately evaded, looking for a way to counter. It was going to be difficult at her base level, were she had access to virtually none of her Chaos Arts...

* * *

><p>At roughly the same time, Kat had made her own move.<p>

It had been almost impossible for the feral monster to contain herself until now. Having to wait until morning to sink her teeth into the flesh and muscle of humans was almost agonising, but it had been so worth it. Howls of pleasure mixed with screams of pain and horror, and over a dozen lay dead before people had locked themselves indoors in a desperate attempt to escape the carnage.

Licking blood from her hand, Kat glanced at the nearest building. It was a library, although Kat didn't know or care. She could smell prey within. That was all that mattered.

Within the library, aside from the sobbing and panicking villagers who had either taken refuge inside or where already reading when this mess started, was a very frightened Koakuma, who was shaking violently as she faced the door, twenty feet away. Everyone else had hidden themselves away in the corners of the small building, leaving only Koakuma in the open.

Clutching the alarm spellcard tightly, the assistant librarian desperately reassured herself. _It won't come in here, I won't have to fight it, I should send a signal now, yeah, I'll just go ahead and-_

A resounding thud from beyond the entrance nearly caused Koakuma to faint in fright. Just her shoddy, goddamned luck to be stuck in the first building that creature planned to raid. Now she was most certainly going to die putting up a pitiful resistance-

_No, no, no! I can't think like that!_ Koakuma reprimanded herself fiercely as the feral creature battered the door down with its second blow._ I... I will stop this thing!_

Even with that resolve, she still needed to inform Patchouli. She tried to chant the spell that would activate it, but the monster was shockingly fast, zipping through the distance between them and digging her teeth into Koakuma's arm, inciting an agonised wail as she desperately tried to dislodge herself.

The spellcard dropped from her hand as she wrestled with the insane monster, who was practically drenched in blood by now. Tears escaping her eyes, Koakuma bit her lip and tried something else.

Placing a hand on the back of the monster's head, she unleashed a storm of bullets. It dislodged the monster, slamming her into the ground, but her arm was a mess now, completely useless. Even though she was a youkai, repairing the injury would be nearly impossible without aid.

With one limb effectively out of commission, Koakuma was heavily disadvantaged. It was going to be tough, trying to manage spells with only one hand, but she couldn't fight here, in this library. Too many innocents would get hurt.

_Why am I doing this?_ Koakuma wondered as she grabbed the crazed girl by her hair, and flew for the door, dragging Kat behind her. _I'm only going to die! Why won't I just escape?_

Koakuma had never thought of herself as overly brave before. After all, she could never keep her composure around Sakuya, and she couldn't bring herself to criticise Patchouli's life style. How could she? They were far superior beings to someone like her. Why would they listen to some weakling who could barely shelve books?

And now, here she was, fighting a monster that seemed to forsake danmaku entirely, instead relishing in eating her enemies alive. It was beyond twisted, but she simply wouldn't back down, even after nearly losing an arm.

Throwing Kat to the ground once they were outside, Koakuma ascended to the air, hoping the monster was incapable of flight. She needed _some_ type of advantage.

Cradling her ravaged arm, Koakuma tried to think of a way to contain the situation. The insane youkai had gotten to her feet, clearly pissed beyond belief that its food had fought back. Glaring at Koakuma, she growled, "Meat! Return, now!"

Koakuma investigated the area around her, looking for something that would help.

_Oooooh, why's the Mansion so far away...?_ She wondered fretfully. _Why did this thing attack now? Why isn't there someone who can actually fight her?_

With a deranged roar, Kat crouched low, and leaped to the sky, hands reaching for the frightened devil.

With a cry of fright, she evaded, and Kat fell to the ground, landing neatly on all fours, only to leap after her again.

After her fourth attempt, a small miracle happened. At the peak of her jump, Kat was struck by a giant bullet that had come from absolutely nowhere.

Blinking in shock, Koakuma turned her head to the side, looking for her saviour. There was no one in the air, but a weird whirring noise from below caught her attention.

Trundling along was a large, green... monstrosity, was all Koakuma could identify it as, having never seen anything like it. It seemed to move with large treads, and a raised area at the top centre of the contraption held a cannon, which Koakuma assumed was what fired the bullet.

The contraption was almost directly below Koakuma when it stopped, and a hatch opened on the top, revealing a red-headed girl who glanced up at Koakuma.

"Hey, weird girl! Get in here if ya wanna live!" She yelled. Normally, Koakuma wouldn't enter strange, mechanical monstrosities with a stranger, but circumstances where exceptional.

Dropping quickly, Koakuma squeezed into the tight space with the other girl, who quickly closed the hatch and viewed some sort of monitor, tracking the startled, yet quickly recovering, insane youkai.

"W-what is this?" Koakuma gasped, wincing as her damaged arm was pressed tightly to her body.

"Oh, this?" The girl asked with a grin as she manipulated the contraption's controls. "I call it the 'Tankmaku DX-5000, Kick-Ass Edition'! It kicks ass, don'tcha think?"

"Uh..."

"Still, won't hurt to call for back up!" The girl continued, and the cannon began to aim skyward, until it was at a sixty degree angle.

After more control manipulation, which the girl made look insultingly simple, the cannon fired several, humongous danmaku orbs into the sky.

"W-what's that going to do?" Koakuma asked, hoping the monster couldn't break into the thing somehow.

Rika glanced at Koakuma, a wide grin on her face. "Oh, just getting someone to do their job! Don't worry, that shrine maiden'll be here in a few minutes!"

A glimmer of hope surfaced in the little devil's mind. She must have been referring to Reimu Hakurei! Of course, she could easily beat that thing! She did beat Flandre, after all...

"Buuuut, in the meantime, I wanna blow this bitch up!" The girl continued, her grin now a sneer as she prepared to engage the feral monster.

_I really hope this thing is sturdy..._ Koakuma thought nervously.

Things had finally quietened down at the shrine. Everyone had washed up and dressed, and were keeping their banter to a low volume, especially since they remembered that there was a recuperating youkai with them as well.

Reimu pressed her hand to Shujiko's forehead, feeling her temperature. all seemed normal, it was like she was just taking a nap. Still, her wounds were slower to heal, and Reimu wondered just how long Shujiko would be bed-ridden. Reimu had knocked her unconscious for two days just through a (admittedly intense) danmaku duel. Now that some monster had nearly torn her to pieces...

Elly had been gazing at the world from Reimu's patio all this time, doing her best to keep from snapping and hunting her enemies down. She had to constantly remind herself that those three were far too dangerous to attack alone. Even in a one on one fight, Elly could only doubt her capabilities.

In the distance, Elly saw something rise to the air, and squinted, trying to determine what it was.

Several more shots rose to the sky. Elly counted about thirty or so, shot in rapid succession, before they stopped.

Alice, noticing Elly was looking for something, moved to her side. "See anything?"

"I dunno... thought I saw some huge bullets in the sky." Elly muttered, and Alice peered in the direction Elly was facing.

"Maybe someone's duelling?" Alice suggested.

Marisa stepped up to the other two girls, wondering what they were looking for. After asking and receiving the same answer, she frowned thoughtfully.

"... I'm not so sure it's a normal duel," The witch said slowly. "I mean, maybe it's coincidental, ze, but with those guys running around..."

"You think someone's fighting them?" Alice asked, a hint of concern in her voice. Shangai, perched on her shoulder, added, "That would be utterly disastrous for any idiot foolish enough to fight them!"

At that moment, Reimu emerged from her room, having finished tending to Shujiko for the moment, and saw everyone acting a lot more serious than usual. "Uh, what'd I miss?"

Elly pointed at where she saw the bullets. "I saw giant danmaku flying to the sky there. It could be someone fighting... them."

Reimu narrowed her eyes as she gazed at the horizon.

_Giant danmaku...? Where have I seen that before?_ Reimu wondered. It took a few moments, but a memory surfaced, and she groaned.

"Must be that weird girl with the big... metal thing," Reimu muttered. "But why shoot at the sky?"

"Missed her target?" Marisa suggested. "Either way, we should really go check it out, just to be safe."

Reimu nodded in agreement, turning to grab her orb from its pedestal. Just as she reached out to touch it, however, an overwhelming dizziness and fatigue gripped her body, and she froze for a moment, before collapsing to the ground.

"Reimu!" Marisa immediately rushed to her side, propping the shrine maiden up in her arms. "Hey! This is no time to be snoozing, ze! What's wrong?"

Reimu only panted slightly, beginning to sweat. Concerned, Elly and Alice came to see what had happened.

"Is she sick?" Alice asked, recalling a similar incident from last night, when Reimu had came down with something momentarily.

"No idea... Hey, old turtle! Wake up and tell us what's wrong!" Marisa yelled, and a drowsy grumble came from the corner. Genji had attempted to catch up with some sleep when things had quietened down, although he woke up quickly enough when he saw Reimu.

"Lady Reimu! What happened!" Genji demanded to know.

"I don't know! She just collapsed!"

Reimu's consciousness drifted in and out, barely aware of her surroundings. Weird images flashed through her mind, nonsensical scenes that usually accompanied sickness. But there wasn't any time to be sick. She had to go after those three freaks and kick their asses...

Elly glanced from Reimu to outside, a worried look on her face. "Uh, I know this isn't exactly the greatest time, but what about those bullets?"

Marisa glanced at Reimu for a moment more, then gently lay her on the ground, getting to her feet.

"Fine, me and Elly'll go make sure everything's all right." Marisa said with an unusual authoritativeness in her voice. "Alice, can you look after Reimu?"

Alice blinked at the other witch. "Uh... If I have to, but what if you need my help?"

Marisa only gave her a small grin as she collected her broom and adjusted her hat. "Nah, won't be necessary, ze. Besides, I'll bet you're the best doctor out of all of us!"

With that, Marisa and Elly shot of in the direction of those bullets, while Alice and Genji remained with the sickly shrine maiden.

"...Best get her to bed." Genji muttered at last. "I think she has some sort of fever."

"R-right..." Alice replied, feeling somewhat put-out. Why would Marisa rather take Elly than her? She didn't buy that 'best doctor' excuse at all.

_No time to worry, I guess..._ Alice thought sullenly as she carefully picked Reimu up and carried her back to her room, making sure not to trip on Shujiko on the way. _But, you seriously couldn't wait until later to fall sick? Stupid miko..._


	7. Chapter 7  the First Skirmish

"Hey, did you hear that rumour...?"

"It can't be true. Besides, how many tyke bombs do we have protecting this place? No way this could go on."

"I'm worried, man. My sister lives in that village..."

"Barkeep! Get-ush anudder one!"

Artimus sat in a secluded corner of the pub, watching the various villagers converse quietly and fearfully amongst themselves. Earlier that morning, he had been playing the role of a distressed young man who had heard some horrible news from a passing youkai that there was a vicious murderer and her pet letting loose on a couple of nearby villages.

The news had travelled quickly. A lot of people were still sceptical, which was understandable. after all, there was no real proof yet that anything had happened.

Some lesser youkai had volunteered to check out the villages, just their return was awaited. While some people were confident that it was all a hoax, there was an undercurrent of fear. Artimus hid his smile behind clasped hands, enjoying the tense atmosphere.

Soon enough, this village would fall under attack... but Artimus wondered if there was a better candidate than Mion or Kathy. After all, assuming either of those girls didn't get too caught up in dealing with the inevitable problems that would arise from wanton slaughter, their general appearance would be recognised (and who wasn't going to miss an insane, blood-covered youkai or a girl wearing ribbons?) and would be alert for their presence. While their defences would never stop Mion nor Kathy, it was better to utilise alternative options should the need arise.

And, lo and behold, a potential candidate made her appearance. Strolling into the pub was a woman with dark, crimson hair and even darker eyes, a sheathed sword in her belt. She flashed the guy that was heavily drunk at the highly inappropriate time of late morning a look of disgust, before sitting herself a few tables away from Artimus, her back to him.

Artimus was no mind reader. He couldn't pluck thoughts out of other's heads, as useful as that would be. However, he had countless years worth of experience at reading people's expressions, their body language, and sometimes even their eyes could tell many stories. It wasn't hard for Artimus to guess that this woman was someone who bore a deep-seeded grudge for someone. With the right prodding, she just might be that alternative option.

Slowly, Artimus rose to his feet and approached the woman, who turned her head to glance at him, noticing his approach. Her senses seemed finely tuned, at least.

"Sorry to bother you, Miss," He said politely, inclining his head. "But I couldn't help but notice that you're on your own."

"You my pity partner, then?" The woman asked icily, and Artimus shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"Oh no, I didn't mean anything like that. I was just wondering if you wanted someone to talk to?"

The swordswoman gave him a steely glare, clearly not wanting anything to do with him. However, his smile was oddly alluring, as if it promised good times if she exchanged a few words with him.

So, against her better judgement, she merely waved at the seat on the opposite side of the table. With a word of thanks, he took his seat, facing the woman.

"Well, some introductions are in order, I think. I am Artimus."

"...Meira," The crimson-haired woman replied. "So, what do you want?"

"Just a few minutes of your time," Artimus replied, leaning forward slightly. "I have something to discuss with you, concerning the Hakurei's."

Artimus was honestly a little surprised at her reaction. Her eyes flashed angrily as she leaned forward as well, almost pressing her face into the male's. Grabbing at his shirt, Meira snarled, "What're you asking me about them for?"

"Sorry, I didn't realise that was a sore subject." Artimus said softly, apologetically. He had found this woman's weakness with his first query, which wasn't even the intention! What were the odds? Some would say 'contrived', Artimus was content with 'pure, blind luck'.

With a grunt, Meira relinquished her grip and leaned back in her chair, glaring icily at Artimus. "Well? What d'you wanna know about them?"

Smoothing his suit out, Artimus waited a few moments before replying. "Well, I was interested in learning about the shrine maiden's powers. It's a subject of interest at the fan club of a friend of mine."

"...Fan club." Meira replied in disbelief. "Reimu Hakurei has... a fan club?"

"Is that hard to believe?"

"You're damn right it is!" Meira snarled, drawing wary looks from everyone else within the building. "That Hakurei's nothing but a bitch! Thinking she can just brush people off, blowing crap up, forcing people to build her a shrine just cause someone rightfully blew it to bits... She thinks she's some sort of god!"

_I take it Hakurei has beaten this woman at some point._ Artimus noted with a smile hidden behind clasped hands. This woman's reaction was rather childish to him.

"Stupid little freak... she doesn't deserve the Hakurei Power..." Meira mumbled, mostly to herself.

"Power?" Artimus repeated, feigning interest and naivety on the subject.

"The hell are you from? Some rock?" Meira asked suspiciously. "You don't even know about her family's power?"

Artimus hook his head. "Such things have never been mentioned around me, I'm afraid.

Meira shook her head in disbelief, but told him regardless. "Well, in short, she has a ton of spiritual power, and a weapon that can hold just as much power as she can. Naturally, it's unfit in her hands!"

"Are you saying that you could wield it better?" Artimus asked.

"Hell yeah! I certainly wouldn't let it go to waste, that's for sure!" Meira growled.

_Her judgement is almost comically shrouded..._ Artimus thought as he watched the swordswoman. _She certainly seems convinced that she was capable of wielding great power. Well, let's see about that..._

"Tell me, If I knew a way to help you obtain that power, would you mind doing a little something in return?" Artimus asked, and Meira gave him a suspicious look, her hand gripping her sheathed sword tightly.

"I suppose that depends on what you want." Meira replied.

With a reassuring smile, Artimus told her, "Oh, it's nothing big... I just want you to put a gift of mine to good use."

Meira continued to glare suspiciously at him as Artimus reached into his pocket and produced a small, rectangular case.

"Inside this are spell cards of my own invention," Artimus informed Meira, a small grin on his face. "To obtain the power of Hakurei, simply lure the shrine maiden out to wherever you see fit using any of these, and then simply overpower her with the spells."

The smartly dressed man placed the case on the table, while Meira eyed it cautiously.

"... What kind of spells are they?" She asked. As a human swordsman, Meira's magical capacity was limited. Sure, she could fire danmaku, but not really anything beyond that.

"Powerful spells," Artimus replied vaguely. "Capable of use by anyone, which makes them rather dangerous, too. But I trust that you can use them reliably."

Meira hesitated for another moment, before reaching out to receive the spells.

Artimus nodded in approval, then rose to his feet. "Well, I hope you are successful in your endeavour, Meira. All the best."

"Wait!" Meira called. "Just what do you get out of this?"

Artimus glanced at her, flashing a wide smile. "Oh, don't worry about that. By simply using them, you'll be repaying my kindness."

And with that, Artimus left, leaving Meira to ponder about the meeting, and just who that man was.

Meanwhile, as Artimus left, he wondered just how his companions were doing. He expected Kat to run into resistance, but she should at least be able to kill or severely wound one of their major enemies, who would doubtlessly have arrived. As for Mion... well, she shouldn't meet up with any resistance, but in the unlikely chance she did, her ability should at least allow her a chance to retreat, if she were smart enough to take it. He could check her progress after Kat's.

Artimus took to the air and headed for the village he had directed Kat to.

* * *

><p>Mion wasn't having a good time.<p>

At first, the prospect of fighting someone who could actually hit back was appealing, but when your opponent could somehow cancel out your technique, it wasn't as fun. Especially considering that the damned brat was much stronger.

Mion had been forced to constantly evade, firing pitiful Danmaku spreads that the girl only laughed at, and countered with far more elaborate bullet patterns, then manipulated her hair to chase her around what few paths Mion could find, until she was eventually ensnared by the stuff, and was hanging from her wrists while her opponent revelled in her apparent victory.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Rena taunted, looking somewhat silly with her hair being used to suspend Mion twenty feet in the air. "Murderers like you really are just weak little freaks at heart."

"Oh, so you're an expert on the subject now?" Mion snapped, feeling thoroughly humiliated. If only she could reach one of her ribbons, she could try and counter with something. It wouldn't be much, but...

However, it seemed her words had some effect on Rena, for a look of shame crossed her face. "Tch, I guess I can't talk, huh?"

Mion was lowered to the ground, still bound, as Rena walked closer, glaring at Mion coldly.

"I'll give you a chance to explain yourself," Rena said, releasing the girl, much to Mion's surprise. "Why would you do this? Why kill these people when they've done nothing wrong?"

_That tone... is she trying to... sympathise or something?_ Mion wondered as she stared at the odd girl. Had she done something in her past that she regretted? Judging by her earlier reaction to Mion's words, had she killed too? Did she think the two had a similar background?

"...You want to know why I tried to kill everyone here?" Mion asked, rising to her feet. She innocently began to fiddle with a ribbon in her hair, slowly loosening it. "I assume you're expecting to hear my tragic, bull shit life story that warped my view on this place?"

Rena glared fiercely as she growled, "Don't make light of this! I could kill you right now, if I didn't have a life to rebuild!"

"Oh, so you _do_ have a dark past!" Mion said with a small laugh. "Well, don't we all? So, you trying to reform or something?"

"Why did you attack this village!"

Mion rolled her eyes and sighed, tugging the ribbon from her hair. "Fine, I did it because I find it fun, okay?"

Seeing Rena's shocked expression, she grinned coldly. "What? Psycho's exist, you know. Did you think I needed an excuse to do anything?"

Rena began to shake, probably from anger, as she lowered her gaze to the ground.

**Rena? Please calm down! she's just trying to scare you!** Christina's voice echoed in her mind.

_I know, Christina, she doesn't scare me... It's... she's _smiling_ about it!_

"Gone into shock?" Mion asked mockingly. "Huh, guess you're still a kid after all. Oh, by the way..."

Mion threw the ribbon to the air, where a dark mass of energy began to emanate. Rena watched with wide, surprised eyes as Mion called, "Chaos Arts! Vision of Delusion!"

A flash of pure darkness flared for a brief moment. Like a blinding light, this darkness completely blocked Rena's vision, and she cried out in surprise. Blinking rapidly, her sight thankfully returned, but what she saw...

Bile immediately threatened to rise to her throat as she gazed at the horror that had sprang up before her.

Somehow, the village had been utterly decimated. Buildings were now nothing more than charred, broken piles of scorched material, mangled and mutilated bodies strewn everywhere, blood coating the ground...

**It's an illusion!** Christina's voice firmly reminded the horrified Rena. **It has to be! It isn't real!**

"B...but..." Rena mumbled. Of course, Christina had to be right, but if it were an illusion, how could she smell the thick scent of blood, carried in the small breeze? There was still traces of smoke in the air as well.

**Anya can do this too, remember?** Christina continued reassuringly, although her mental voice was shaking from the disgust she felt at the scene. **Well, not this scene, but you know! Realistic illusions! Just focus on what you know is real!**

Ignoring the sickening scent, Rena inhaled deeply, trying to control her nerves. "It's all an illusion. None of this is real, I just have to brea-"

A fist landed on her stomach, sending the stunned girl flying back. She tried to control her trajectory, but something grabbed at her shirt and roughly shoved her into the blood-soaked ground.

Crashing painfully to the ground, Rena yelled in pain and horror as the blood covered her body, coming to a stop from her rough tumbling face down.

Rena weakly climbed onto her knees, but her assailant grabbed the back of her head, shoving back to the ground.

"Realistic enough for ya?" Mion hissed with sick pleasure, forcing Rena's face into the red-stained dirt. "Why not have a taste and confirm for yourself?"

As Mion laughed in twisted enjoyment, Rena only lay, stunned. She wasn't exactly afraid of blood, especially since she had spilled so much in her misguided desire of vengeance, but to come literally face to face with a bloodbath, while trying to reconcile her murderous ways, it was having quite the effect to her psyche, which Christina noted with fear and worry.

**Rena! Please, get up!** Christina begged, trying to rouse her sister. It was no use, Rena seemed to have withdrawn, leaving herself defenceless.

Christina was no fighter. She knew no spells (Well, she had knowledge of everything Rena knew, but none of her practical ability) and was pretty useless in a confrontation. But with Rena too busy trying to block out the carnage, it was up to her to do something.

Christina forced a switch of the dominant spirit, and Mion noticed a slight change, which she couldn't quite put her finger on. Lifting her blood-soaked head, Mion gazed into her eyes, which seemed... different.

"I won't ever forgive you." 'Rena' whispered, although her voice had changed, sounding... well, Mion couldn't say 'friendly' in this instance, but certainly not as aggressive in nature, although it certainly did a damn good job sounding like she was out for Mion's blood.

The girl's hair changed from that scarlet colour to a pale, cerulean shade, which then began to coil around Mion's arm.

Cursing, she gripped Rena's (Or whoever the hell it was) scalp and tried to smash her face into the round again, but Christina managed to push the demented girl away with her hair alone, retracting it once some distance was between them.

Christina pointed at Mion, who was glaring viciously at her, trying to figure what had changed. The hair colour was different, as was the voice. Maybe the personality? This girl was incredibly weird... although Mion was sure she had found the reason her dynamic power wasn't working.

"...Dispel your illusion!" Christina demanded, trying not to sound like a frightened child fighting a hellish abomination. "It won't work on me!"

Mion simply folded her arms, smirking. "What if I want to keep you here? The scenery's nice, after all!"

Christina's eyes narrowed in pure, utter loathing, an emotion she couldn't recall feeling for anyone in the world. "How could you enjoy this? What the hell are you?"

"A bad girl," Mion said with a laugh. "So, that pointer-finger gonna do something, or should I make you eat it?"

_...I wont aim for a kill..._ Christina assured herself, running one of Rena's spells through her mind. Her sister had sworn off of it altogether, due to its damaging and illegal nature, and was fuelled by her hatred. Even if Rena had wanted to, she could never use it again without that emotion burning strongly within her. Right now, Christina was the harbinger of that emotion, and she was going to use it if it meant saving everyone.

"Sweet Vengeance." Christina whispered, and Mion leaned forward slightly.

"Hm? Say somethi- Woah!"

Mion barely lunged away in time, as a pale blue beam suddenly shot at her, barely missing her chest. she glanced in surprise at Christina, who looked troubled that she had nearly struck a dangerous spot. Her aim was truly bad, but she wasn't going to be dissuaded. If she could keep that girl from attacking...

Mion gave Christina a curious look, wondering why someone like her would have such a spell. The ribbon-covered girl had sensed the killing potential in that attack, and it felt like nothing the girl should even know. She was a bundle of mysteries...

Controlling the quaking of her arm, Christina tried the spell again. This time, she had aimed for Mion's leg, but it had been swiftly evaded, and now Mion was charging for Christina, who was watching with wide eyes, completely unsure of what to do.

However, Mion seemed to notice something from behind her Christina, as she suddenly came to a stop, barely bringing her arms in front of her in an attempt to block the storm of bullets that battered her.

Blinking in surprise, Christina turned her head to see a very, very pissed off Lyra.

"Mistress, are you hurt?" Lyra asked, her concerned tone at odds with the glare of pure hatred that almost never appeared in her expression.

Christina nodded shakily, then forced some words from her throat. "L-Lyra, can't you see it?"

"What?" Lyra checked the surrounding area, finding nothing out of the ordinary, save for the destruction caused by the psychotic girl.

Mion, staggering from the hail of bullets, glared fiercely at the maid._ Of course, she would've been out of range when I used my spell card... No point in wasting the other one, but I'm back to being at a disadvantage here..._

"Mistress, please withdraw," Lyra said, placing herself between Christina and Mion. "It seems Rena can't fight, so I'll finish this."

"But Lyra!" Christina immediately protested. "It's not her fault! She did something to her-uh, our mind! We're standing in a massacred village!"

At first, Lyra thought she meant the damage Mion had caused, but Christina seemed to be speaking of a different scene, and frowned in confusion.

"You. Did you use an illusion?" Lyra demanded to know.

"Take a wild guess," Mion sighed. "You might get a gold star."

"Keep it." Lyra grunted, and directed her next comment to Christina. "Please, leave now. Join the villagers and protect them."

Christina wanted to argue further, but if she remained, she might become a burden to Lyra. After all, Christina wasn't a fighter like Rena. And until Rena regained herself, the twins were effectively useless.

"Please, don't get hurt." Christina ordered her maid, before turning heel and flying away, while Mion grinned in triumph.

"That was a bad move, you know," Mion informed the white-haired maid. "Noble, but stupid beyond reason."

"Care to explain why?"

"Heh, let's just say that I can now fight much more effectively now that it's one on one," Mion replied, stooping down to untie a ribbon from her calf. As she did so, the illusionary ruins melted away. They were quite pointless now. "I can tell you're quite skilled. That's going to backfire horribly on you."

_Guess I should remain extra careful._ Lyra noted as she waited for Mion to make her move. She couldn't tell just how powerful this murderer was, but if she somehow incapacitated Rena... things were looking rather bleak already.

* * *

><p>"Get. Off. My. <strong>TANK!<strong>" Rika screamed as she swivelled her cannon, attempting to dislodge the creature that had grappled it, in some vain attempt to tear it to pieces. The feral youkai was incredibly strong, but it seemed even she had her limits. Her claws and teeth simply couldn't pierce the metal.

Koakuma watched fearfully through the monitor, which displayed the creature clinging tightly to the swivelling cannon, snarling and howling at it as she finally slipped and rolled along the ground. It seemed they had the advantage for now, but Koakuma was expecting some horrible stroke of ill luck and malice that would grant the creature the ability to rend metal and have its way with her and the weird tank girl, Rika.

Rika didn't seem too worried, though. With the press of a button, Koakuma heard some whirring sounds from all around the metal contraption, and fearfully asked what was happening.

"Oh, that? Just pulled out my secondary turrets," Rika explained vaguely. "Should keep that freak from dirtying up my tank even more."

"Uh... Can you beat her with this?" Koakuma asked.

"Obviously. Why?"

"Well, it makes calling for back up seem rather pointless..."

Before Rika could reply, Kat had somehow leaped back onto the tank, avoiding the many bullets that flew her way. Now, Rika's turrets were practically useless, as the tank's body was obscuring its own weapons.

"Tricky little bugger..." Rika growled, attempting to swat Kat off her tank with the cannon, but she simply leaped onto the hatch, and began to furiously pound it with her fists, growling in anticipation.

Koakuma winced and tried to huddle lower, a difficult feat considering the lack of space. Rika gritted her teeth in frustration as she muttered, "Maybe I shouldn't have used an outsider model..."

Koakuma didn't really know what she was talking about, nor did she really care. she was too busy panicking about the monster trying to tear its way inside. "P-please t-t-t-tell me t-the door c-c-can't be b-b-b-broken?"

"'Course it can't! I made the damn thing, after all!" Rika reassured her frightened companion, just as a notable dent began to form.

Glancing at the damage apprehensively, Rika began to fiddle with her control panel, desperate to shake her off somehow. The tank lurched forward a few feet before braking hard, but this only momentarily shook the youkai up, before she went back to punching a hole through the entrance.

"We're gonna die!" Koakuma wailed in terror, and Rika grumbled in frustration at her crying.

"Shut up! I called for help, didn't I? That shrine maiden'll be here soon!"

"How soon?" Koakuma sniffed.

"...Now!" Rika declared. The pounding continued, and the dent had become a large, upside-down dome by now. A few more strikes and the feral creature would have most likely gained access.

_Really should have used one of my other tanks..._ Rika thought.

Koakuma, seeing that no help had arrived yet, began to whimper, hoping someone would save her. It was so shameful to think like that, hoping Patchouli, Remilia, or even Reimu or Marisa would conveniently pop out of nowhere to whisk her away from danger and blow the crap out of whatever threatened her, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't cut out for this! All she wanted to do was research in the library!

With a savage roar, Kat finally punched a small hole into the tank, causing the two trapped girls to flinch and stare fearfully into the creature's grinning face.

"Feed me!" Kat growled, licking her blood-stained lips, and began to tear a bigger hole through the hatch.

"...Hey, uh, devil girl?" Rika squeaked, sounding far less confident than a few minutes ago. "Um... Sorry I... kinda messed up on the rescue thing. Truth be told, it's not my normal shtick."

"S-sorry I was so useless." Koakuma replied softly, trying not to look at her swiftly approaching death.

With a hole wide enough for her to reach through, Kat chuckled maniacally, wondering which of the two she should devour first. well, she had started on the taller one...

Just as Kat reached down to grab her however, a rather convenient miracle occurred.

From a distance, a voice could be heard yelling, "Master Spark", which was followed almost immediately by a wave of bright light.

Kat, seeing the approaching spell, howled in surprise and frustration as, yet again, something interrupted her meal, and she bounded from the tank. Barely a second later, a giant laser sailed overhead, barely grazing the top of the tank.

_T-that spell... Is that-_ Koakuma wondered with hope-filled eyes. As if to answer, a black blur flew overhead, followed closely by a girl in red, and Koakuma practically cheered, then yelped in pain when her wounded arm brushed painfully against Rika.

"Who was that?" Rika gasped, who was trying to control the shaking in her legs.

"Haven't you heard of her? She's Marisa!" Koakuma said, giddy with relief. She had never expected to be so happy to see the kleptomaniac witch.

Marisa and Elly hovered in the air, watching Kat growl like a deranged canine at them, clearly furious.

"Her again...?" Marisa noted with a hint of disgust. "I've got quite a few things to say to you!"

"Why waste your words? She's clearly lost her mind." Elly pointed out.

"Fine, I'll blast her to Makai and back!" Marisa declared, and fished around the pockets of her robes. "Just let me find a Bomb spell or something..."

Kat howled and leaped for the two. Roughly shoving Marisa aside, Elly blocked the bite with the shaft of her scythe, gritting her teeth as the feral youkai's weight dragged her down to ground level.

Cursing, Marisa charged her Hakkero with energy, looking for an opening. It was difficult, with Elly in the line of fire...

"Come on, move outta the way, ze!" Marisa yelled. Elly shot her an annoyed glance, probably about to ask how she could get away from this death grip, before common sense gave her a little reminder, and she shoved at Kat, relinquishing her grip on her own scythe before swiftly flying back.

_Let's see just how great this spell is!_ Marisa pointed her Hakkero at Kat, concentrating as hard as she could. This being her first time casting the spell, it was difficult to control, but she was confident it would work. It had to, after all.

"Take this! Non-Directional Laser!"

A laser erupted from the Hakkero, flailing wildly all around the witch. A pale violet in colour, the spell barely grazed the still-stumbling Kat, teeth still clamped around the scythe. With a muffled howl of surprise, the feral youkai spat the scythe from its mouth and tried to evade, but the wild laser had returned, slamming into her torso and sending Kat flying back a few feet.

Marisa, gritting her teeth from the effort of maintaining something resembling control over the spell, cancelled it. Not her most skilful hit ever, but it worked.

Elly picked up her weapon, and cautiously approached Kat from the air. When she saw that the monster was stunned from the blow, she immediately dropped to the ground, making sure that she gave Kat a bone-breaking stomp to her arm, causing Kat to yowl in pain and fury.

"Easy, ze!" Marisa called from above, but Elly paid her no mind. Pinning Kat's arms to the ground with her knees, Elly positioned the business end of her scythe to Kat's neck, a cold glare directed at her captive.

"Can you understand me?" Elly demanded to know, and Kat attempted to bite at her legs in response. Calmly, Elly pressed the curved blade to Kat's neck.

"I said, can you understand me?"

Kat glared furiously at Elly for several moments, before finally grunting, "Can."

"Good. Now, where are the other two?" Elly asked, keeping the blade pressed to Kat's neck.

"Uh, Elly? You okay?" Marisa asked cautiously, "You aren't going to... you know, do anything to her, are you?"

Elly ignored the witch for now, focusing only on the youkai below her. "Well? Speak!"

Kat only gave a pained grin, displaying her bloody, sharp rows of teeth.

"Uh, Marisa...?" Koakuma's voice squeaked from a few feet away. "What does she mean, 'other two'?"

Keeping her gaze on Elly, Marisa replied, "Some guy and girl, as far as I know. Up to no good."

"...Oh. So she's with them?" Koakuma sighed, and Marisa glanced at her in surprise, and noticed the red-head's injury with wide eyes.

"Aw, crap, she got you? You all right, ze?"

Koakuma glanced at her injured arm with a grimace. "Maybe. But, if she's on her own, then maybe Mion and Artimus are doing the same thing elsewhere?"

Elly glanced at Koakuma briefly, before returning her attention to Kat. "Well? Is that true?"

Maintaining her bloody grin, Kat replied, "Yes. Kill all! Fun!"

Elly looked at the youkai in disgust for a moment, before shaking her head. "Killing is fun? Okay, then I guess you're gonna _love_ this."

Elly shifted her scythe back slightly, intent on decapitating the girl with a swift swing. Marisa glanced at her with surprised eyes. "Hey, wait! Don't be too hasty!"

"You want her to live?" Elly asked monotonously as Kat simply grinned back at her. "You want me to spare the life of a killer?"

"Uh... well..." Marisa wasn't sure how to respond, and Koakuma only looked between the two nervously, unsure if she should interject in some way. After all, Koakuma agreed that that... thing, was too dangerous to live, and yet the thought of killing her was incredibly unappealing, to say the least. And that scythe wielding girl... she seemed a bit off in the head, as well.

Rika, meanwhile, was too busy fussing and criticising her damaged tank to even notice the rather serious scene behind her.

"I'll kill her, Kirisame. You don't need to do anything," Elly said. "And I'll kill the other two as well, for everyone's sake."

"That's rather noble, but that kind of attitude leads one to the path of darkness." An amused voice spoke from nearby, which instantly iced all the blood in Elly's veins as she slowly raised her head to face Artimus, who had approached, completely unnoticed.

Koakuma gave a startled yelp and attempted to hide behind Marisa, who instantly pointed her Hakkero at him. Looking at the girls with amusement, he slowly walked towards Elly and Kat, the former apparently frozen in shock or fear.

"I can see it clearly, Miss Elly," Artimus continued, stopping three feet away. "That murderous intent. The primal desire to end a life. You claim it's for the good of everyone, but I wonder, would you stop with just us three?"

Elly blinked at him in surprise, as if she couldn't understand what he was getting at. Artimus only smiled at her, completely at ease.

"It's in all of us, you know. The want to kill. Some of us reject that innate desire. Other's embrace it," He waved his hand at Kat, who also looked at complete ease. "And then there are those who justify killing._ 'It's for vengeance!' 'It's to protect others!'_ And then what happens to them?"

"Shut your god damned mouth!" Marisa screamed, and a moment later, a cluster of star shaped bullets fell from the sky, above Artimus' position. With a brief glance, he swiftly leaped back, evading the spell, only for the cluster to suddenly spilt and encircle him, trapping the youkai.

Instead of looking worried however, Artimus looked intrigued. "O-ho! This spell, where oh where have I seen this before...?"

Refusing to listen to whatever Artimus had to say, Marisa yelled, "Cluster Constellation!" and the star-shaped bullets began to fire at him, one at a time, at high speeds.

With an air of casualness, Artimus stepped from side to side within the confines of the stars, dodging each one that fired from the make-shift wall.

Eventually, there were too few stars to effectively trap him, and he easily dodged the last few shots before facing Marisa, who was glaring ferociously at him. Koakuma was trembling violently, Elly still looked rather stunned, and Rika was now watching with a gaping mouth at what was unfurling before her.

"That was one of her first devised spells..." Artimus muttered thoughtfully. "Hm, I wonder... are you Mima's prodigious apprentice?"

"... Why do you care?" Marisa asked cautiously, wondering how Artimus could know Miss Mima.

"We're old friends," Artimus smiled. "Well, sort of. I've been wanting a word with her, but it seems she's not around for the moment."

"As if Miss Mima would waste her words on you!" Marisa growled, her golden-yellow eyes flashing in anger.

Artimus only chuckled, and directed his gaze to the cowering girl behind Marisa. "Would you be the one who caused Kat here some trouble, by any chance?"

Koakuma was apparently struck dumb, as she only stared wordlessly at him, mouth wide open. Marisa glanced back at the youkai, before charging her Hakkero with energy once again.

"Don't think you're getting away with whatever you're doing, ze," Marisa snarled. "I'll stop you, right now!"

"Hm, I suppose you have a chance to do so," Artimus nodded. "You may be a human, but if Mima took the time to train you, you must be quite the powerhouse!"

"Damn right I am, and here's an example: Ma-"

Before Marisa could cast her spell, Artimus simply pointed at her, muttered something the witch didn't hear, and Marisa found that she couldn't hear her own voice.

Alarmed, Marisa tried to force sound from her throat, but she couldn't hear anything. _Damn him, what the hell did he do?_ Marisa wondered.

Artimus merely chuckled at the young witch's confusion, while everyone else looked at Marisa like she went mad. She just stopped her Master Spark and started making weird, guttural growls, as if she were trying to clear her throat.

"Well, that'll have her stumped for a while," Artimus said cheerfully, and turned his attention to Rika. "Oh, please don't think I never noticed you! I simply had a few words to say to these lovely ladies."

"Uh, don't mind me!" Rika said nervously, sensing that she really, really could do without any of this man's attention. Scaring a crazy, scythe wielding girl and doing... something to that Marisa Kirisame proved that he shouldn't be crossed or taken lightly. And seeing as Rika was nothing more than a tank engineer, she was all too eager to step out of this little incident. Fighting a feral monster was quite different from fighting its master, who had calmly disabled two opponents effortlessly, and without really fighting.

Artimus gave Rika a chilling smile. "Oh, how could I not? You took an active part in fighting off Kathy! Even if you used that thing, it took a commendable amount of bravery. Perhaps you aren't one to be overlooked."

_Aw shit..._ Rika thought as Artimus slowly approached, until he was only two feet away. Back planted against her tank, she stared fearfully at the handsome man, fearing whatever the hell he was going to do.

"I wonder, would you be interested in helping us out a little?" Artimus asked, which was completely the opposite of what Rika had been expecting.

"I, uh... huh?"

"Help us out. You know, use that thing to plow a village or two? I suspect there aren't many who can defend from an attack against this." Artimus explained, and Rika stared dumbly at him. Was he... attempting to recruit her for whatever the hell he was planning? Why?

As Rika tried to comprehend Artimus' request, said villain glanced back at the girls. Marisa was still deaf to her own voice, making weird noises while Koakuma feebly asked her to quieten down and explain her situation, and Elly was still frozen in place, with Kat growing incredibly impatient with being pinned down.

"As you can see, they can't help," Artimus said quietly, stooping down to whisper in her ear. "I am offering you a chance to play with your toys freely, with no one to get in the way. Is that so bad?"

"B-but I..." Rika murmured with wide eyes. Sure, she hated not being able to let loose with her tanks on a daily basis, but she at least understood that she couldn't exactly shoot the whole damn place down! She would end up seriously injuring someone, and at the very least, Rika didn't need her own ass handed to her by a shrine maiden again.

"You don't have to accept, you know," Artimus said with a small shrug, as if his offer was over a completely trivial matter. "I'm not petty enough to kill you over your choice... but you would become a target for Kathy and her over protective owner."

_That... _thing_ has an owner?_ Rika wondered, her face paling at the thought of someone, possibly even more demented and vicious, controlling her.

"And she hates it when anyone even looks at her funny," Artimus sighed. "So when she learns of your defence... But, whatever, it's up to you."

From behind, Marisa finally shut up, perhaps realising the futility of random shouting if she couldn't hear her own words.

_He's messing with me here..._ Rika realised. Even if his offer was genuine, he was still screwing with her mind, not so subtly hinting that she was doomed to death if she opposed them. Rika very much did not want to die, and since her tanks were probably useless against the group, it was in her best interests to accept and hope she could somehow live much longer that way.

And yet, when she finally opened her mouth to form words, it wasn't a 'yes', that came out, but rather a 'N-n-no!'

Artimus raised his eyebrows in evident surprise. "Are you absolutely sure? You could die before I can extend this offer once again."

Rika simply shook her head this time, and Artimus shrugged, turning his back to her.

"Well, that's your choice. Let's hope you don't regret it, eh?"

With Rika now ignored, Artimus returned his attention to the other girls, instantly noting that Marisa had disappeared.

"...I really should have paid more attention to the silence." Artimus noted to no one in particular. A second later, something hard was pressed against his head.

"Yeah, well sucks to be you!" Marisa screamed. She was obviously still deaf to her voice, but it seemed she realised that she still had a working voice. "Master Spark!"

The laser had pretty much flattened Artimus to the ground, while Rika shielded her eyes from the light. Elly snapped out of her stupor and craned her neck to see what happened, while Kat had begun to twitch and yowl once again. Koakuma kept her distance and cradled her injured arm, looking rather hopeful and frightened. After all, she had finally explained to Marisa that everyone could hear her, and if Artimus realised that she was the one who managed to sic Marisa on him...

"And don't you DARE brush this off!" Marisa roared as she poured her energy into the Spark. With all this power, she had to take him out, she just had to.

* * *

><p><strong>This took a little longer than usual to write... partly because I had trouble writing Artimus convincingly. I don't want him to have omniscient intelligence, but I don't want him knowing next to nothing, either. Hard to get things done that way. Oh, and partly because I got distracted by a bunch of games I just bought.<strong>

**This part was going to have a few extra scenes at the shrine and SDM, but this was in waiting long enough I guess, and I can always include them in the next chapter. For now, this chapter mainly demonstrates how well the heroine's will fare against their opponents. Looks fine things are roughly even for now, huh?**

**Anyways, enjoy!... Or rather, hope you enjoyed the chapter that you most definitely read before this.**


	8. Chapter 8 Skirmish Aftermath

Fingers twisting around themselves and tapping at the kotatsu, Alice was clearly irritated. She really needed something for her hands to do right now. She had more work to do on her new doll, after all. She should be helping Marisa with whatever was happening at that village, perhaps try and figure out what had caused Reimu to collapse...

Genji stepped out of the shrine maiden's room, looking rather troubled. Alice glanced at the bearded turtle with apprehension, while Shangai fluttered above her master's head.

"Any changes?"

"... Her spiritual power is off," Genji muttered in worry. "It keeps fluctuating, and every time I think it's stabilised, it seems to drop a little further."

"So what does that mean?" Alice asked in confusion.

Genji shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it... unless..."

The old turtle recalled that scene two months ago, back when Mima had transferred her own 'existence' into Reimu to counteract that curse. Since then, Genji had noticed a few things different about Reimu. Such as a far more refined mastery of her own abilities, as well as a boost in power and control. And that technique of hers, which she finally dubbed 'Fantasy Heaven', it was similar to a ghost, how she could erase herself, yet still remain.

Alice, waiting for Genji to divulge in whatever he just thought up, sighed and asked Shangai to give him a little poke to the forehead. Complying with the order, Genji was startled back to reality by the fairy-like doll.

"Ow! Move it, you..." Genji grumbled.

"So, about Reimu," Alice said as Shangai cheerfully returned to fluttering above her master. "What do you think's wrong with her?"

"Ah, right... did Marisa tell you what happened to Mima?"

Alice nodded. "Well, she didn't say where she went, only that she was 'gone for a while', or something."

_A while? Is that denial?_ Genji wondered briefly, but put that thought aside for now. "Well, in a sense, Mima has become one with Lady Reimu."

The doll master tilted her head to the side, clearly lost. "...How?"

"I'm not sure, it's some unexplained ghost thing." Genji sighed. "Anyway, I'm wondering if maybe Mima's presence is having adverse affects to Lady Reimu. Perhaps it's a power overload, or incompatible spirits or something."

"Then isn't she in danger?" Alice asked with a hint of concern.

"I don't know," Genji replied, realising that he had been saying this a lot lately. His archaic memory desperately needed an update. "But we can't do much right now. Aside from the fluctuating power, she's suffering from an otherwise normal fever."

Alice grimaced as she went back to tapping at the kotatsu. Things looked bleak indeed, with the primary youkai exterminator falling sick just as three highly dangerous individuals were wreaking havoc. Then again, Marisa and Elly were probably enough to handle it for now...

_With no help from me._ Alice thought irritably, her expression darkening ever so slightly. Genji had noticed the girl's mood change, but decided not to say anything about it for now. Besides, if it was about what he suspected, then he could tease her about it later.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, for similar reasons, the purple-haired librarian of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was impatiently tapping at the table while she tried to focus on one of the dozens of tomes she had produced from her shelves, looking for even the slightest hint to their enemies. But every time she read a few words, her assistant seemed to swim to the front of her thoughts, demanding her undivided attention.<p>

"This is ridiculous." Patchouli sighed, leaning back on her chair and rubbing her temples. Why was she so worried for Koakuma? Her assistant was only researching at some village's library. That didn't warrant any worry. Koakuma may be more shy, meek and slightly mischievous than powerful, but no one had a reason, or the power, to interfere in any way, and it's not like Artimus or that girl would attack her, right? And if there had been any trouble, Koa would have raised an alarm by now.

And yet, despite her reassurances, Koakuma once again obstructed her thoughts, and Patchouli finally growled in frustration, slamming her hand onto the study desk.

"Screw off and leave me to my work, you pest!"

Someone made a startled 'eep!' sound, and Patchouli glanced ahead, seeing a fairy had approached. She seemed taken aback by Patchouli's sudden outburst.

"What?" Patchouli grumbled, trying to continue reading.

"U-uh, Sakuya sent me to ask of your progress..." The fairy muttered nervously. "S-she is q-quite anxious for news."

"Is she?" Patchouli growled, her eyes staring blankly at some random paragraph. "Well, kindly tell Sakuya that she can't expect any news after a mere hour."

With a shaky nod, the fairy turned and flew from the library, leaving Patchouli by herself, where she sighed in frustration.

_Even when she's not here, she's causing me trouble..._

The small librarian simply couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something important was going on, and Patchouli feared that Koakuma may be a part of it. Maybe she should call her assistant back...

"Problem, Patchy?" A new voice asked, and Patchouli saw Sakuya arrive from seemingly nowhere.

"Shouldn't you be guarding Flandre?" Patchouli grunted.

"I can trust the fairies with two seconds of observation," Sakuya replied, her eyes showing a hint of concern. "Vixxy seemed awfully nervous when she returned. It's not like you to frighten the fairies."

Patchouli glared at the book she simply couldn't read, as if it where the fault of everything. "Nothing's wrong."

"You're worried?" Sakuya asked, a small smile on her face. "Why not admit it? You're afraid Koakuma has run into danger."

"Ha! I don't have time to worry over that bumbling girl!" the librarian scoffed, folding her arms as she leaned back in her chair. "Besides, Koa probably got lost amongst the bookshelves. Nothing to worry about."

Sakuya tilted her head slightly, contemplatively. She seemed to be studying the smaller youkai with her icy-blue eyes before finally answering.

"I'll send China to fetch her then," the maid decided. "No need to thank me, just continue with your work."

As Sakuya apparently blinked from existence, Patchouli glared at the spot where the silver-haired maid had just stood, looking irritated, then relieved.

"Damn woman... Making decisions like that..." She grumbled softly to herself, although she found that she was now able to concentrate on the large tome before her. Her mind at ease, she continued to search for any clues of their adversaries' pasts.

* * *

><p>Panting heavily, Marisa's Master Spark finally began to die down, the laser thinning and dulling with each passing second, until the smoking remains of Artimus was visible. His suit was utterly ruined, practically falling apart by now, and he lay face down, unmoving.<p>

Rika chanced a peek at the aftermath, looking slightly horrified. "D-did you just kill him?"

"'Course I didn't!" Marisa yelled, still suffering from a deafness to her own voice. "I don't have any lethal spells on me, ze!"

Elly stared in shock, keeping the disgruntled Kat pinned. Did Marisa really defeat him so easily? No, it couldn't be... it wasn't right... or fair. She was the one who was supposed to defeat Artimus! To crush him. To destroy him...

Elly was suddenly thrown back, and she yelled in surprise. Kat had somehow pushed Elly off from herself, although it must have taken a considerable toll on her broken arm.

Snarling, Kat leaped to her feet, her right arm dangling limply as she glared at Elly, who hastily scrambled to her feet, cursing her hesitation.

"Not enough. Weak!" Kat growled, a thin smile on her face.

"Then I'll just have to try harder!" Elly retorted coldly, and Kat snickered at the gate keeper. "What?"

"Not me." Kat grinned in amusement, pointing at something behind Elly. "Unharmed!"

Elly's eyes narrowed in suspicion, not daring to risk taking her eyes off the monster before her. "Marisa! Watch Artimus, he might not be hurt!"

"Eh?" Marisa glanced at Elly, seeing that she had somehow lost her position over Kat. "Hey, I'm coming over!"

"That won't be necessary." A muffled voice from below spoke, and Marisa stared, wide eyed, as Artimus climbed to his feet, looking unharmed, aside from his damaged clothing.

Brushing himself off, he frowned as he stared at the tattered remains of his shirt. "Well, that's annoying."

_N-not a single scratch?_ Marisa wondered. _But... that was a Master Spark!_

"That spell... it brings back fond memories," Artimus commented, smiling up at Marisa. "The amount of people that lost their lives to that spell was innumerable."

"...What?" Marisa glared suspiciously at Artimus, who maintained that annoying grin of his. Elly, still watching Kat, listened in on what Artimus was saying, while Koakuma and Rika simply watched from the sidelines, still trying to figure out how Artimus was still standing after that hit.

"I wonder, where did you learn that spell?" Artimus asked. "There should only be one person who knows it. Don't tell me Yuuka tutored you too?"

"... Not quite." Marisa answered, checking her mental catalogue of spells that may be more effective than the Master Spark. Unfortunately, nothing she knew had the raw, destructive power of that spell, and she had drained most her energy using it.

Artimus simply chuckled, and glanced in Elly and Kat's direction. "Well, opposition seems fierce here, Kat. what say you we see how Mion is doing?"

Kat gave him a troubled look, apparently unsure of what do. On the one hand, she wanted to slaughter and devour the group, but she also wanted to join the bloodbath Mion was no doubt causing.

Eventually, joining her master seemed more appealing for now, and she finally growled, "Mion! Mion!"

"Very well." Artimus simply began to walk towards the insane girl, and Elly finally turned her head to watch, eyes filing with apprehension and fear.

_Damn it, just attack! He's right there!_ The blonde girl thought as Artimus drew closer. _Why won't you do anything?_

Marisa, however, seemed to think Artimus was about to attack the frozen gatekeeper, and rushed forward, Hakkero glowing with what power remained within her. "Leave her alone, ya sick-"

Just as she was about to unleash another (possibly futile) blast at point blank range, Artimus suddenly stopped and twisted his body around, grabbing Marisa's outstretched wrist and swinging her around, broom and all.

Yelling in surprise, Marisa was expecting some kind of powerful counter attack, and braced herself for some sort of blow. Instead, she was simply dropped to the ground, where she blinked in surprise as Artimus simply walked off, passing Elly without so much as a glance.

"Y-you..." Marisa muttered in shock, then indignation as her face glowed red with rage. Climbing to her feet, she screamed, "Are you mocking me or something? Fight me properly, ze!"

As Kat simply snickered at the witch's response, Artimus merely sighed. "Come now, young lady. I'd rather not get involved with the heavy lifting. Besides, if I harmed you, it would make talking with your master much harder."

"Didn't I tell you? She wouldn't waste her breathe on a freak like you!" Marisa snarled savagely enough to equal Kat's intensity.

"She has none to waste, so I think I'm good." Artimus chuckled, and finally glanced at Elly, who hadn't moved all this time.

"Hm? Elly, was it? Is something wrong?"

Elly blinked in confusion as she was addressed. Just why was she acting this way? It was completely inappropriate to show fear, especially to the bastard that she had to kill!

Her grip on her scythe tightening, Elly's eyes narrowed as she glared coldly at Artimus. "You're what's wrong. You'll pay for what you did."

"Ah, that..." Artimus looked somewhat apologetic, much to Elly's surprise. "Sorry about that, but I couldn't risk Yuuka stopping me before I could begin, now could I?"

"Coward. You waited until she was weakened and distracted!" Elly growled, moving her scythe to a ready position. "You knew you couldn't fight her!"

Artimus began to chuckle slightly at Elly's words, which only infuriated her all the more. "Disabling powerful enemy units is a viable tactic, young missy. Still, I suppose it wasn't the most 'honourable' way to do things..."

Kat began to whine and tug at Artimus' ruined clothing, clearly wanting to leave and meet with Mion. Or devour their enemies. Artimus gave her an absent-minded pat on the head, wrapping the talk up.

"We'll play again some other time. Not to sound big-headed, but I doubt any of you could hope to defeat me anyway. Still, feel free to try. It'll bring despair to the hopeful masses when you fail!"

"Running away?" Marisa yelled after them, and received no reply. Gripping Mion's uninjured arm, they took to the sky, and a bright light emitted from Artimus' free hand. When everyone's vision returned, they found that the two maniacs had disappeared.

Marisa stared at the spot they had been occupying for a few minutes, before drawing in a big, deep breathe, and let loose a torrent of curses that echoed all around the village.

Ignoring the storm of profanity, Elly simply glared at the ground, disgusted with herself for doing absolutely nothing. It was her chance to try and do something to avenge Yuuka, but she had simply frozen up...

Koakuma, meanwhile, winced at Marisa's words, and at the pain in her arm. The blood had pretty much coated all of her lower arm by now, and she was getting rather dizzy.

When Marisa finally stopped her torrent of screaming curses for breathe, Koakuma shakily said, "U-uh, th-they're d-defintely gone, r-r-r-right?"

"What's it look like?" Marisa snarled unpleasantly.

"Okay. G-g-guess I can faint now..."

"Eh?" Marisa glanced at the librarian assistant, and then gasped in surprise as she fell to her knees, then to her face.

_...Is that a delayed reaction?_ Marisa wondered briefly, before rushing to the girl's side and trying to shake her awake. she was out cold.

Rika took a few nervous steps forward, completely unsure of what just happened. From the looks of things, the bad guys were stronger than Kirisame and Scythe-Girl, yet they left? Oh, and thanks to apparently forgetting her sense of self-preservation, Rika was possibly a revenge target for another socio-path. Terrific.

"... Well, I think it could have been a lot worse..." Rika finally muttered, mostly to herself as she surveyed the surroundings. Not counting the damage from her tankmaku and Marisa's giant laser beams, damage was light, although there was a lot more dead than Rika would have liked...

A middle aged man poked his head out from his home, fearfully scanning the area. When he saw nothing, he slowly stepped out, treading towards the girls.

"...W-where did she go?" The man asked Rika, who was the nearest. Rika only shrugged in response. "Will she... come back?"

"If it does... I'll get her," Rika reassured the man quietly, forcing a bright grin on her face as she faced him. "I'll just bust out my greatest tank! None of this outsider bull-crap!"

"Elly!" Marisa called to the gatekeeper." We might as well return to the shrine, ze. We've no idea where they've went."

"But what if they're attacking somewhere else?" Elly asked with a worried tone. "We can't waste time sitting around!"

Marisa glanced at the unconscious Koakuma with a troubled frown. "I know, but I couldn't even knock him out, and that crazy bitch just won't stay down... Even if we find 'em, I can't see us doing much..."

Elly wanted to snap at Marisa for her words. That damn witch wasn't supposed to say such things! She was supposed to vow victory in their next encounter, and make it a reality! Why act helpless now?

"And besides, I wanna get Koakuma some place safe first, take a look at her arm." Marisa continued, glancing at the wound. She doubted it would heal nice and quickly, going by its severity. And Shujiko was going through a slow recovery too... just how ferocious was that thing?

Elly simply sighed in frustration and defeat. True, there was no point in pursuing a superior enemy who they couldn't find anyway. But, to just do nothing...

* * *

><p>"Is that really your best? Ha!" Mion laughed mockingly as she kicked a shadowy dancer into oblivion. "Dancing phantoms? How hilariously stupid!"<p>

Lyra merely grunted and distanced herself a little more from Mion. She was certainly a handful, deftly dodging her shadows erratic bullet patterns and eliminating them with ease. It was all the maid could do just to keep Mion at bay, who seemed to be growing incredibly confident and arrogant.

"I gotta say, your strength's not half bad, at least!" Mion continued, swinging her arm to unleash a wall of dark-coloured danmaku. "At the very least, I'm at a level where I can fight!"

_Just whatever is she on about?_ Lyra wondered, evading the bullets flying at her. She grimaced as one grazed her waist, and another by her thigh. I can't waste time on her words! I'll need to try something else!

When the bullet storm ended, Lyra clapped her hands together, exhaling loudly.

"Serenade of the Lunatic Waltz!" Lyra declared, and two more shadowy figures in Lyra image split from her body, each coloured a faded, flickering white. Mion simply smirked as the two figures joined hands, and began a slow, controlled dance, as if moving to the tune of a waltz.

"That's lovely, but in what universe is crappy dancing supposed to act as an effective attack?" Mion asked condescendingly.

"Melody of the Wild Dance!" was Lyra's reply, and another shadow-figure formed from Lyra, which began to dance to its own, apparently different tune.

Mion simply rolled her eyes and awaited the bullets. The 'Melody' shadow would begin to spaz out and throw bullets everywhere in a few seconds. The 'Serenade' duo was new, however. No doubt they're purpose was largely similar, though.

It only took a few seconds for the shadowy figures to increase their tempo, and begin to move erratically. While the Melody Ghost began to randomly kick and spin through the air, firing bullets in all directions, the Serenade Duo simply sped up dramatically. One of the ghosts would twirl under the arm of the other, reaching away from its partner, or be lifted to the sky, while smaller bullets would randomly form and fly from the dancing figures.

As Mion swiftly evaded the random bullets, she realised with a start that the smaller bullets, which had seemed to arc around an miss her completely, were now encircling and closing in fast.

_Tch, she's trying to trap me?_ Mion thought scornfully. _As if something like this would be enough!_

At least, it wouldn't have been, if Lyra hadn't forced the encircling bullets to suddenly shoot straight for her. Caught in the middle of dodging the melodic bullets, she was taken completely off guard. Finding herself stunned by the blows, Mion fell to the ground, where Lyra directed every available bullet to the ribbon-loving girl's location. Screams of pain and rage erupted as the bullets rained down.

Finally, when the danmaku had ran its course and disappeared, along with the shadows, Lyra remained. Panting slightly from the exertion, she carefully studied the bruised girl lying on the ground, shooting a glare of utter loathing at Lyra.

"Your bravado seems to have disappeared," Lyra commented coldly, floating several feet above Mion's position. "I'm not one to ridicule, but you didn't come close to living up to your incessant bragging."

"Shut up..." Mion growled as she staggered to her feet, panting heavier than Lyra was. "At least... I know how... to dance..."

"Should've put more thought into your occupation, then." Lyra replied, completely unaffected by the petty insult. She fired a few more bullets to strike Mion's legs, grounding her once again.

Lyra quickly descended and pressed her foot to Mion's back, keeping her pressed down. Mion attempted to struggle, but couldn't dislodge the maid.

"You're going to pay for what you've done," Lyra said coldly. "I'll personally dig a hole to throw you inside if I have to."

"Oooh, a hole! That will _totally_ keep me restrained!" Mion muttered sarcastically, and was met with more pressure applied to her back.

_How could she be so callous?_ Lyra wondered._ This girl acts like killing is nothing! Well, I can interrogate her later. Right now, I have to-_

Lyra's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden pain in her side, and she gasped in surprise, inspecting the damage. Had that girl somehow countered?

However, instead of a wound, Lyra saw that her clothing had turned into some sort of stony grey colour, which appeared to be slowly spreading. Her startled mind then began to realise that it wasn't simply a colour change, but her clothes really had turned to stone, and if the strange sensation in her side was any indication...

Mion noticed that Lyra had been distracted and took her chance. She quickly leaped to her feet, upending the maid, glaring triumphantly at Lyra until she noticed the rapidly changing cloth at her side.

"Artimus? When'd he...?" Mion looked disgruntled as she searched the area, quickly spotting a man with tattered clothing, holding a girl with rather ragged clothes.

"Hey! Why'd you do that? I can take her on my own!" Mion yelled at Artimus as he descended with Kat. Lyra scrambled to her feet, finding her movements becoming more restricted by the second.

_Crap, why didn't I notice him... just what has he done?_ Lyra wondered with forced calm. The sensation was spreading over her skin and clothes slowly. Wasn't there a way to reverse this?

Mion, however, seemed to finally notice the damage that her companions had taken. When the two touched down to the ground, Mion immediately rushed to Kat's side, ogling her broken arm with worry and outrage. "Oh my god! Who did that to you, kat? Tell me and I'll rip them a dozen new holes and-"

"I noticed you seemed to be having a spot of trouble." Artimus interjected.

Mion shot him an annoyed glare. "Says who? I was just about to reverse the situation when you butt in!"

"Well, she's certainly kept you at bay for quite a while," Artimus noted, glancing at the surrounding village. "You didn't cause as much damage at Kat managed to."

"Well, someone else fought me too, and she cancelled my powers all by herself!" Mion whined childishly. "Plus, I was easily beating that idiot over there before you showed up!"

Artimus glanced at the maid, who was busy trying not to show her mounting panic. Artimus hadn't expected any notable opposition in this area, but at least he was aware of it now. That maid was no longer any concern, but if someone could cancel Mion's dynamic power...

"Well, I think we've caused enough damage," Artimus said thoughtfully. "We'll let them off for today. Come on, let's go."

"Again with leaving things in the middle," Mion sighed. "Because, as we all know, the best villains have a habit of saying, 'hey, let's stop the indiscriminate slaughter! We have to let the heroes catch their breathe, you know!'"

"Your thinly veiled criticism's are duly noted," Artimus chuckled. "Now, are you ready?"

"Don't think I'll let you escape!" Lyra called to the group defiantly, noting that the stone had had spread to her thigh and chest by now. Why had she even called them out? It was going to be impossible to fight.

Mion glared at Lyra for a few seconds. "...In a minute, Artie. I wanna vent some frustration."

"...If you must." Artimus sighed, and waited patiently for Mion to finish up.

The ribbon-clad girl walked slowly towards Lyra, who tried to fire danmaku to halt her progress.

dodging the spread easily, Mion suddenly lunged at Lyra, who was unable to effectively evade, due to her altered body.

With amazing swiftness, Mion twirled her body, driving her heel into Lyra's still-fleshy side, knocking the wind out of her. This was immediately followed by a kick to the stomach, which knocked Lyra back.

As soon as she hit the ground, Mion leaped above her, driving her foot once more into Lyra's stomach, who choked on the pain.

"I know you didn't do it, but this is for hurting my precious Kitty Kathy." The deranged girl murmured, pulling a ribbon from her forearm.

"Chaos Arts: Final Fist."

The ribbon disappeared, and Mion's fist was enveloped with a faint red glow. Smiling eerily, she moved her foot, and suddenly plunged her fist into the stony part of Lyra's body, who was stunned beyond words, her eyes wide with shock.

With a worryingly large chunk of her body now missing, Mion was content. With a cheerful wave and goodbye, Mion simply left her to die, returning to Artimus and Kat, who looked positively entranced by the damage Mion caused.

"Well, I'm done. Time to go!" Mion said, picking Kat up from the ground and carrying her like a groom would carry their bride.

"Very well." Artimus ascended to the sky once again, with Mion and Kat following close behind. Lyra saw them leave, although she didn't really notice them. Her mind was still too busy processing what the hell just happened.

_I feel lighter. Perhaps that stone put a lot of weight on me. I guess I'm back to normal, right?_

It was clear that she wasn't. Blood was seeping from the wound that remained, her torso left with a large hole in her right side. The skin that retained the stony curse was slowly reverting, but it was pointless. Lyra wasn't going to recover from a wound like this.

_Maybe I'm not back to normal. After all, I can't seem to move. That's bad. How can I serve my Mistress if I can't move?_

In her mind, she could see Christina, smiling brightly as she was served her lunch. Her twin sister, Rena, looked bashful as she apparently conversed with Lyra, no doubt still troubled by her past deeds. Anya's face swam into view, her mis-coloured eyes dull and lifeless when Lyra first found her, which slowly began to sparkle with joy and curiosity for literature as time went on. Tara, still a child when she first came to the mansion, now a fine young woman, diligently and proudly protecting the manor.

A tear escaped Lyra's eye as her vision darkened. It was a shame she couldn't see them grow further. How long had she remained a servant at the mansion? It felt like an eternity, and the maid wished she could have spent another eternity there, happily serving her master and raising whoever needed her help.

"Will they be okay?" Lyra whispered to no one in particular. "I hope they can look after themselves. None of them can cook very well, that may be a... be a..."

* * *

><p>Meiling arrived at the village with a shocked expression. Sakuya had sent her to check up on Koakuma, and neither of them expected for there to be any trouble. After all, it was just to reassure Patchouli's fears. It's not like anyone would have attacked her.<p>

Well, even if she wasn't a target, Koakuma was certainly in this village when something happened. She could feel the little devil was nearby, but what the hell had had happened here? Buildings were damaged and patches of blood coated the ground.

"... Koakuma! Hey, Koa!" Meiling yelled. "Please tell me you're still breathing! Come on out!"

Nearby, the front door of a house flew open and a young girl poked her head out, looking for the source of the noise. Meiling turned to face the girl, who watched her fearfully, ready to retreat inside in case the red-headed woman was another threat.

"Um, excuse me, but... What exactly happened here?" Meiling asked gently.

"... We were attacked." The girl replied simply. At that moment, someone gently pulled her back inside, and a fairly young man stepped out to face Meiling.

"We've recently been attacked by some wild monster," The man explained. "It was chased off, but it's killed quite a few of the villagers. We're tending to the wounded now."

Meiling felt a stab of fear. People had been killed? It had to be those two that had came to the mansion last night. But why do this?

"Uh, please tell me that a girl with two pairs of wings isn't among the deceased?" Meiling asked nervously, and the man thought for a moment.

"Ah, that girl... She's alive. Took a nasty bite to her arm, but otherwise unharmed." The man explained, and Meiling breathed as sigh of relief.

"Do you know where she is? I need to bring her home."

"She should be in the infirmary. It's two streets down, you'll see a sign."

Thanking the man, Meiling hurried to the infirmary, which was a glorified storage room for bandages and drugs. Inside was a few villagers who had received minor injuries somehow. Perhaps simply by tripping themselves in their frenzied escape. At the far end, sitting up slowly with a groan, was Koakuma.

"Koa!" Meiling called with relief, rushing past the others and to the winged girl's side. Koakuma glanced at Meiling, apparently confused. Slowly, a look of horror crept along her face, and she looked at the room she was in, seeing others that were hurt, then at her own, bandaged arm.

_Why are the worst dreams always the reality?_ Koakuma wondered gloomily.

"Koa! What the hell happened! Are you okay?" Meiling asked almost frantically, and Koakuma hushed her, fearing she would ditsturb the others.

"Well, what happened was... Uh, maybe I should explain back at the mansion," Koakuma decided, and glanced around the room again. "Hey, where's Marisa?"

Meiling shrugged. "I dunno. Why? Was she here?"

"Yeah, she saved me and that tank-girl from her." Koakuma shuddered at the memory of being trapped inside that giant metal tank thing as that monster pounded its way inside. That had been too close.

Well, it looked like Marisa and that other girl wasn't here. Maybe they went off to pursue that guy and girl? Koakuma hoped not. They seemed too powerful for Marisa and Elly alone.

* * *

><p><strong>~That Night~<strong>

"Absolutely nothing all day..." Marisa muttered suspiciously, sitting opposite Alice at the kotatsu. Now that Artimus' spell had worn off, she could hear her own voice, and had adjusted the volume accordingly. "It's like they completely vanished."

"They must be trying to psyche us out," Alice suggested monotonously. "Scare us into believing that we can't ever predict when they'll strike."

"And that lazy-ass Shrine Maiden is still sick," Marisa sighed. "How inconsiderate, thinking she can just fall ill at a time like this."

Elly was sitting on the patio, keeping watch. At least, she was supposed to be. The gate keeper was too busy hating on her weakness to be completely alert right now.

_Idiot! Stupid, weak, pathetic idiot! Master Yuuka doesn't deserve such a laughable failure as a gatekeeper!_ Elly chastised herself. She had been doing it all day, ignoring everyone's words of comfort.

Alice, meanwhile, was a bit annoyed for somewhat more selfish reasons. Despite the situation, her feelings were clouding her common sense. The doll master knew it was petty, but she was still sore about Marisa leaving her at the shrine. Even though it turned out to be that freak that nearly killed Alice, it still made Alice feel weak.

The door to Reimu's room slid open, and the shrine maiden herself stepped out, looking rather pale, but otherwise fine.

"Lady Reimu!" Genji hurried forward. "Should you be out of bed so quickly? Go on, get some rest!"

"I'm fine," Reimu reassured the old turtle. "...Mostly. Why do I feel so weak?"

"I don't know, which is why I'd rather you get some more sleep." Genji said firmly.

Deciding not to take his advice, Reimu seated herself at the kotatsu, looking at Alice and Marisa.

"So, uh... something happened right before I, uh, collapsed, right?"

"Yeah..." Marisa sighed, and Alice merely nodded. Shangai, perched on Alice's shoulder, added to this with, "That is correct, sickly Shrine Maiden! The details are rather grim, to say the least, and I wonder if hearing all about it would only endanger your health fu-"

"Shangai, shut up." Alice commanded dully, and the doll immediately quietened itself. Reimu really wished the doll could change expression, because the constant smiling, no matter what was spoken, was rather creepy.

"So what happened?"

After a moments hesitation, Marisa recounted what happened when they arrived at the village, from fighting Kat, to Artimus' appearance. He had done something to Marisa's voice, temporarily preventing the witch from hearing herself, then took a point blank Master Spark at full power without even taking a scratch. After that, they simply left.

Alice, who had heard the story already, frowned slightly. "He's a weird one. Why bother with attacking a village if you're just going to stop halfway?"

"And he's got the power to shrug of Marisa's attacks, so it's not like we could easily stop him from doing whatever he wants..." Reimu muttered, biting at her lip.

Elly, gazing at the sky, was dimly aware of three figures approaching, but her mind didn't seem to register until they were within shooting distance. At that point, she was startled to attention, and she scrambled to her feet, picking up her scythe as she did.

"Incoming!" Elly yelled, ready to defend. Everyone snapped to attention, rising to their feet and heading for the patio. Reimu felt a bout of light-headedness as she moved, but it thankfully passed.

With Genji situated just behind the girls, they watched the incoming figures. Reimu and Marisa recognised them immediately, and relaxed, telling the others that it was fine.

Accompanying the group was a large flock of fairies, and Reimu noted with some alarm that each and every one them looked saddened. Some were still crying, and the three Daidouji's didn't look too good either.

Swallowing the mounting panic rising within her, Reimu stepped to greet the visitors.

"Christina, Tara, Anya... Hi. What're you all doing here at this time?" Reimu asked. Then, a bit more nervously. "Where's Lyra?"

Christina looked at Reimu with teary eyes, her lip trembling, and Reimu realised what must have happened._ N-no way... it couldn't have happened..._

"R-R-Reimu..." Christina whimpered, then rushed for the shrine maiden, burying her face in Reimu's night gown and began to sob hysterically.

Anya's visible eye began to tear up as well. Though Tara looked composed, it was clear she was upset too.

"I'm sorry for our uninvited arrival," Tara said, stepping forward. "But... there's a serious situation that we must discuss.

_And we already know what it is..._ Reimu thought grimly, placing a comforting hand on the sobbing girl's head, unsure of what else to do to comfort the girl.

* * *

><p><strong>I've updated the right story this time, right?<strong>

**Well, I feel bad now. Partly because FFIV:TAY/Procrastination made this take a lot longer than normal for me to write. Mostly because of Lyra's fate. Guess this got a little bit darker, huh? I'd better watch it, or else I'm going to completely ruin it with excessive, grim-dark Gensokyo...**

**Anyways, at some point, I made a TVTropes page for Tsukuribanashi/Tsugi Monogatari. Mostly to test how to create pages, and experiment with linking on the sight. Just search for it at TVTropes.**

**If you happen to be a Troper, feel free to mess around with it, I'm not quite savvy enough to fit every Trope that applies to the stories. That, and there's a few that are best left to readers to add anyway. It's also the closest I'll probably get to indulging in my ego for these stories.**

**Again, thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9  Claim the Prism Wings

"I don't like this... Something doesn't feel right..."

Christina was pacing around frantically, tapping at her head with her knuckles, as the surviving villagers grouped together in fear, wondering just what was going on.

Christina paid no attention to them, her thoughts focused on Lyra and Rena. One was busy fighting a dangerous psycho, and the other had been mentally damaged by said psycho. It had been a mistake to leave when Lyra told her too, it had to be!

**Christina?** A soft, shaky voice entered the girl's head, and she nearly jumped in surprise.

_R-Rena? You're awake?_

**Yeah... Wait. Aw, shit! Where's that evil bitch?** Rena cried out, and Christina winced.

_L-Lyra's fighting her! She should... she should be back soon..._

**Lyra...? Hold on, let me see your memories.** Rena's voice said with concern. Christina stopped pacing and simply waited as Rena scoured her sister's recent memories.

**Dear god, I messed up badly...** Rena groaned in disgust. **I let such a cheap trick fuck me up so bad... And you're worried about Lyra, aren't you?**

Christina nodded, a useless gesture, seeing as she was the only one with a physical body._ I... should I go back?_

**I'll go,** Rena volunteered immediately. **I won't let her get to me this time, I promise! Lyra and I can break that evil c-**

_Rena, I can only tolerate so much cursing in my head._ Christina reprimanded her sister, who quickly apologised.

Letting Rena take over, Christina's hair grew long and scarlet, falling to the ground and shrouding the girl. Rena glanced at the villagers, some of them looking at her in confusion.

"Hey, uh... Sorry to leave you lot here, but I promise you've got nothing to fear!" Rena told them as cheerfully and confidently as she could. "That crazy b- er, psycho's gonna pay!"

With that, Rena took to the air, speeding off toward the village once again. It wasn't a long trip, she saw. Just a mile to go. Although, Rena was sure that she should be seeing signs of battle right about now...

It took a few minutes to reach the village, and Rena quickly found the area where her battle had taken. However, what she saw wasn't an ongoing fight, or a defeated, ribbon-loving girl, but instead...

"W-what the...?" Rena mumbled, feeling dizzy as she stared at the figure on the ground.

Christina, viewing the goings-on within the sister's joined mind, gasped in horror at what she saw. **Rena! T-that's-**

Rena rushed to Lyra's side, feeling sickened at the sight. The maid had a large chunk of her torso missing, with shattered stones lying nearby. What the hell did that girl do to her?

"Lyra!" Rena tried to attract her attention, noting that it was useless. Her eyes were closed, her face almost completely white. Her hand, which Rena cupped gently, was already so cold...

"No... don't..." Rena muttered, her wide eyes filling with tears. "You can't... I haven't... I never made it up to you! I haven't made up for everything I di-"

At that moment, Christina practically wrenched control of the body from Rena, who swam around their shared mind in a dazed state.

"Lyra! Wake up, please! The frantic girl yelled. "Don't leave us! I command you to live! Listen to me!"

**Christina...**

Christina began to sob uncontrollably, wailing with grief. It wasn't fair! Lyra shouldn't have died! That girl was far too weak! How could this have happened!

**...It's my fault.** Rena said in a hollow voice. **I... Because I let her screw with me, I...**

Christina's sobs began to subside slowly, her shoulder's shaking rapidly. Even when she was able to speak, Rena noted that Christina wasn't making any claims that Rena wasn't at fault. Without control of the body, Rena's pang of guilt wasn't felt, but it wasn't any less real.

Thoughts flashed through Christina's mind, which Rena viewed with shock.

**Christina! You can't!** Rena argued.

"I know," Christina sniffled, speaking aloud. "But... I want to destroy her, Rena. I want to... I want to destroy her so thoroughly, she'll wish she could escape to hell."

**Please, don't do anything like that.** Rena pleaded. **I'll do it! I'm already swimming in the blood of innocents, after all, and it's my fault that this happ-**

"Don't blame yourself!" Christina yelled suddenly. With a bit more hesitation, she continued. "It... isn't your fault, Rena. This might've happened to us if we stayed."

The sister's sat in silence for several moments, still holding onto Lyra's cold hand. After a while, Christina asked, "Rena... can she come back?"

**What?**

"Like you. You came back to me. Can Lyra do the same?" Christina asked, a tiny modicum of hope filling her voice.

**I... I don't know.** Rena said hesitantly.** I don't understand how I remained, myself. I remember feeling lots of hate, but I don't know if Lyra felt that much...**

"But... what about the green-haired ghost?" Christina continued desperately. "She was dead, right! So Lyra can be a ghost too!"

Rena didn't like how her sister was acting. It was bordering on denial. While Rena couldn't blame her twin for feeling so heart broken, if she kept on thinking that Lyra could somehow find her way back...

**Christina... we... need to tell them.** Rena said, referring to Tara and Anya. They would need to know what had happened.

With a slow , reluctant nod, Christina slowly lowered the maid's hand, staring longingly at her pale face.

"Sleep well, then." Christina whispered, tears filling her eyes again.

**...I'm so sorry.** Rena added, directing the apology to both Christina and Lyra.

* * *

><p>The blonde girl slammed the door shut, shaking with fright. She had sprinted as fast as she could from that woman dressed in black, and it didn't look like she was following. Still, if she was found in her home...<p>

With a shaking breathe, Elly stumbled through her home, uneasily eyeing the statue of her mother, standing by the basin, washing the clothes as she passed.

Making her way to the attached store room that held some of their farming equipment, Elly searched for something that she could use a weapon, or maybe to just scare the woman off.

That scythe hanging on the wall looked intimidating enough. Elly never used it, seeing as it was too dangerous, and she had no desire to ever use the thing anyway. Still, if it could save her life, she would gladly keep it by her side.

A hammering at the front door made the girl jump and squeal in fright. Impossible! That woman had found her already? She had barely moved when Elly fled, so how could she have found her so fast?

"Hello~!" The woman's voice called, sounding frighteningly close. "Little missy, are you hiding in here~?"

_Go away... leave me alone..._ Elly's frightened mind begged the woman as she huddled in a corner of the storeroom, the scythe held protectively in front of her.

The thudding of fist against wooden door continued for a few more seconds, then silence. Elly shivered in her corner, too afraid to see if she was alone now. After all, what if it was a trap? What if the woman was trying to lull her into a false sense of security?

Ten slow, agonising minutes passed before Elly found the courage to get to her feet and stumble back to the kitchen. It seemed safe enough, there wasn't a peep from anything in the house. Maybe now she could focus on why everyone had turned into a st-

Elly found herself paralysed when she reached the kitchen. Horrified, she stared as the green-haired woman stood next to the statue of her mother, peering disturbingly close at some underwear held in her hands., which was most likely Elly's.

"Nothing fancy, huh? No wonder, these farmer types don't really live in luxury..."

As if just noticing the scythe wielding girl, The woman smiled brightly, casually throwing the clothing back into the damp pile next to the basin. "Ah, found you! Now I just gotta catch you!"

"S-stay back!" Elly yelped in fear, brandishing the scythe clumsily. With the table and the small size of the kitchen in general, it made using a weapon difficult.

"Oho, a duel, is it?" the woman laughed heartily, and raised a pink, closed umbrella, which Elly could have sworn was not there a second ago. "Very well! To the death, then?"

"Leave me alone!" Elly demanded, tears threatening to pour freely once again. A sense of impending doom was encroaching around her, reminding the girl that she was about to meet her end.

To her surprise, the woman lowered her umbrella, looking curious.

"Interesting..." The woman muttered, taking a step closer. Elly, rooted to the ground, began to shiver once again as she raised the scythe.

"S-stay away!"

The woman didn't seem to hear. She moved closer once again, peering into Elly's fear-stricken eyes.

"Your face... why does it move me so?" The woman muttered, but Elly paid no attention. She was too busy trying to fend off what felt like death itself.

Once the woman was close enough, she raised her other hand, perhaps to brush Elly's face, maybe to punch her into oblivion, the girl didn't know or care. Motivated with a sense of self-preservation, she screeched in fear and swung as hard as she could.

The curved blade embedded itself in the woman's chest, blood spurting from the wound. breathing heavily, Elly stared in horrid fascination at her work. She had never done anything like this before, and it was sickening. But... if it meant she wasn't going to die...

_Wait, shouldn't she be falling?_ Elly wondered in confusion. Glancing up at the woman's face, she looked incredibly annoyed, but certainly not worried, or pained, or...

"Now now, what was that for?" The woman asked, completely at ease with the large wound to her bosom. "I hope you weren't taught to harm strangers on sight, young lady!"

It was at that moment that Elly lost control of her body in a manner that she had outgrown years ago, followed immediately by fainting.

Staring at the unconscious girl in wonder for a moment, The green-haired woman tried to make sense of what just happened. She had planned to torment the girl for awhile, laughing at her futile attempts to escape or fight back, then give the child a break and end her fairly quickly.

And yet, looking into her eyes... The crazy woman had never felt hesitation like that before. Something within her chest, before it was so rudely pierced, had stirred at the sight of a fear-stricken child.

Removing the scythe with a grunt, yet more blood seeped to the floor, some of it spilling over the girl.

"As if she didn't need a bath already..." The woman sighed, and frowned thoughtfully. Just what was she to do now? She had no desire to kill the child, and Artimus' test run had stoned the entire village. there was nothing else here to do!

The woman turned to leave, but hesitation struck again. She glanced at the fainted girl, her mind in conflict about what to. Either she had her way with the girl, or...

"Hm... I suppose it could be interesting, having a tag-along..." The woman muttered. Of course, that girl was probably going to be shit-scared of her for the rest of her life - after all, who wouldn't? - but, even for someone who delighted in pain, suffering, torment and even petty bullying, leaving that girl in this village felt cruel beyond all comprehension.

Carefully picking the girl up in her arms, The woman made her way outside, gazing at her still-terrified, yet so cute expression as she slept.

"... Oh dear, I'm not one of those types, am I?" She asked herself. With a chuckle, the black-clad woman said, "Guess you learn something new about yourself everyday!"

* * *

><p>Elly slowly blinked her eyes open, frowning. This time, she remembered where she was - The Hakurei Shrine. The gate keeper had another dream, one of those stupid, flashback-like ones that held no real purpose other than to go 'hey, remember this part of your life? Good times!'<p>

Of course, from what Elly could remember of her early life, it wasn't the most pleasant or enjoyable, what with everyone you knew and loved dying via petrification. Although, Elly never could recall how she ended up at Yuuka's side, given the circumstances, or how she became so devoted to Yuuka.

"Is that what my dreams are trying to tell me?" Elly wondered aloud as she sat up, her back stiff from the rough sleeping. With the inclusion of three new bodies, space was scarce. Elly had at least given up her space under the kotatsu and found some random part of the floor to sleep. It was cold, but at least Elly got a few hours sleep. Judging by the little light that entered the shrine, it must be just after sunrise.

"Having a prophetic dream?" A voice asked from across the room, and Elly glanced at the source. It was the youngest girl that had arrived last night. If Elly remembered right, the long-haired girl was Rena, the villain in the last incident Yuuka had decided to check out.

Rena herself was sitting by the kotatsu, looking rather depressed, understandably enough. Her eyes dark and shrouded by strands of scarlet hair, she watched as Elly stretched some of the stiffness from her bones.

"Nah, more like pointless flashbacks," Elly sighed with a grimace. "I believe Master Yuuka would refer to it as 'Conveniently exposited backstory'."

Rena's mouth twitched ever so slightly at that. "Hm. Sounds just like how Lyra described her."

_The one who died last night..._ Elly thought sympathetically. "Oh? And how was that?"

The long haired girl took a few moments to remember the exact description, then recited, "'That Yuuka woman... she's an insane, nonsensical, irritating, incomprehensibly crazy individual who spouts nothing but nonsense and bleeds unrivalled power. And a half-decent dancer'."

Elly smirked slightly at that. "I take it this Lyra person is usually more articulate than that?"

"Very much so, yes. and far calmer with explanations."

_Typical..._ Elly thought with a small smile. Yuuka sometimes had that effect on people, especially those who led very organised or peaceful lives. It was as if Yuuka was born simply to disorganise. Still, she usually had a half-decent reason for interfering in anything.

"So, can't sleep?" Elly asked, getting to her feet, which were practically frozen.

"_I_ can't," Rena specified. "Christina cried herself to exhaustion though..."

Seeing the devastated look on herface, Elly turned her head away, unsure of what to say. After all, she had no experience comforting others in any way, especially in situations where a loved one was lost.

"It's funny, even after I decide to turn my life around and protect those I care about," Rena suddenly said, gazing at the wall across from her. "I still ruin everything by being a pathetic weakling. It's no wonder I messed up so badly at being the bad guy."

Elly glanced at her in surprise. that seemed a bit random, but if she was upset, then it was no wonder she would look for some sort of outlet for her grief. And that outlet seemed to be self deprecation and self loathing.

"I can tell Christina feels that way," Rena sighed sadly. "She's trying so hard to hide it, but a piece of her thinks it was - actually, she knows it's all my fault. And I bet they do as well." Rena glanced at Anya and Tara, who were also under the kotatsu, sleeping as peacefuly as the bereaved could.

Elly shook her head defiantly. "No, don't say that."

"But I was beating that girl! She couldn't even use that petrification thing, I was beating her so bad-"

"I don't think that girl can turn people to stone," Elly interrupted, and Rena gave her a confused look. "I'm... not a hundred percent on this, but I think he's the only one who can do that."

"'He'? You mean that Artery guy you lot mentioned last night?"

"_Artimus,_" Elly corrected. "And yeah, him. I think the girl would have used it herself by now if she could."

Rena frowned thoughtfully at this information. "Well, be that as it may, it just shows that Lyra ended up fighting more opponents, and I left her alone."

_She really wants to pile the blame on herself..._ Elly noted with some irritation. She really wasn't suited for comforting others.

"You couldn't have known," Elly sighed. "And you only would have died with her if you stayed."

Rena didn't reply, although her expression showed that she was at least aware Elly was right. As strong as she was, Rena couldn't possibly beat an opponent that apparently shrugged off Marisa's Master spark, which had knocked Rena out when she had to take a hit from that thing.

"We shouldn't worry though..." Elly sighed, and Rena glanced at her. "Everyday, more and more people seem to be pooling together to take them down. The two psycho girls shouldn't be a problem compared to Artimus, but if we all fight together, we could probably take him out too!"

Rena smiled sightly at that. "Wonder how big the revenge cue is for him?"

"Staggeringly big," Elly shrugged, smiling herself. "It won't be long before this whole mess is sorted out, and no one else'll have to die."

The two girls were silent for several moments, lost in their own thoughts. Vengeance burned brightly within both of them, but a cautionary voice whispered to each of them. They couldn't blindly focus simply on revenge. they would only get themselves killed that way. No, if they wanted to overcome Artimus, they would need to fight together...

"Well, I'm having a bath before a que forms." Elly decided, heading for the bathroom. Rena merely grunted in response, getting to her feet and stretching. She wasn't getting to sleep any time soon. Maybe she should make some tea or something...

* * *

><p>As the sun rose over the mountain tops, a terrified squealing could be heard coming from the highly feared monster that fed on human flesh, as her silver haired handler practically dragged her to a large pool of water set deep within the mountains.<p>

"Every. Single. Time." Mion sighed with some impatience, as Kat pathetically struggled to pull away from Mion's iron grip. It was an unusual sight, seeing a nude girl dragging another nude, and possibly far more vicious girl to the spring as if it were normal.

Reaching the small pool's edge, Mion practically threw Kat into the water, who yelped in fright as the water enveloped her. Just as she broke the water's surface, spluttering, Mion had entered and grabbed hold of her again, forcefully dunking her back underwater.

Letting Kat rise once again, Mion forced her into a seated position and began to gently rub her back. "Really now, I know you hate baths, but you're, like, three hundred and eighty two now! Grow up and learn to wash yourself!"

Kat only whined apologetically in response, strangely docile despite the huge infringement on her privacy and freedom. If anything, she looked a little happier now that it didn't appear like Mion was trying to drown her, a small smile on her lips as Mion's hands rubbed against her back.

The water was originally cold, but Artimus had helpfully heated it with some spell of his before disappearing somewhere. Something about business or whatever he wanted to call it, Mion wasn't interested. Knowing him, it was probably another failed recruitment campaign.

"So, looking forward to spilling the blood of the masses today?" Mion asked cheerfully.

"Very! Love blood!" Kat growled happily as Mion began to brush at her hair.

"You sure do, you little wannabe vamp!" Mion chuckled, and glanced at the sun. "Huh, three more days and your real form comes out."

"Real form! Much power!" Kat grunted.

"Let's see them fight you then," Mion said darkly, a twisted grin on her face. "They'll be so scared when you come howling..."

"I suspect the vampires wouldn't." Artimus said from the pool's edge, and Mion glanced at him, surprised to see him back so quickly. "They never were intimidated by their lycan rivals."

While the girls were strangely unbothered at his presence, Mion still looped her arms under Kat's and crossed her chest protectively. "Ooh, watch it Kathy! Artie's trying to peek!"

"Pervert! Pervert!" Kat growled playfully.

Artimus only smiled at the girls. "If it makes you feel any better Mion, I, nor any other male in the world, would ever dream of peeking at such an uncouth, inelegant and thoroughly unattractive lady such as yourself."

Mion blinked in surprise, while Kat snickered at the jest. Flashing her a look of annoyance, Mion pinched the areas her hands were supposed to be protecting, eliciting a surprised, high pitched yelp from the feral creature, before dislodging herself and huffily folding her arms.

"So what do you want, perv?" Mion grumbled.

"I only came by to tell you today's action plan," Artimus replied. "One of the villages will be covered by our new helper, which will distract one group of enemies while we collect a new member."

Mion glanced at him with narrowed eyes. "You mean that dangerous vampire? And how are you gonna do that?"

"Simple. You and Kat will attack the front gate. I will enter once the mansion's inhabitants are distracted."

Mion simply snorted at that. "Yeah, and when they immediately figure out we're merely a distraction?"

"One problem at a time!" Artimus said cheerfully, and produced a dark piece of paper from his pocket. "This charm should make Miss Flandre Scarlet a little more obedient. I'd rather not rely on such things, but it's always nice to have a back up, eh?"

"Or, you know, just use it straight away and control the vampire without any fuss?" Mion sighed, shaking her head. "Why does Artimus never take the simple choices, Kat?"

Kat simply shrugged in reponse, weakly splashing the body of water. Chuckling, Artimus turned and left the girls, placing the charm back in his pocket.

_Let's see if Meira can withstand the heroine's..._ He thought cheerfully, looking forward to the resuts of the inevitable battles.

* * *

><p><strong>~Several Hours Later~<strong>

By now, everyone had woken up at the Hakurei Shrine. Rena, Anya and Tara mainly kept to themselves, while Reimu and the rest wondered just what they could do to lighten the mood without being incredibly insensitive.

Reimu herself seemed much better, at least. Some colour had returned to her face, and her power had risen slightly, so whatever had happened must have passed, which came as a relief. Although Genji still wasn't convinced she was healed just yet.

At least Rena didn't seem as upset as last night, although it remained to be seen if Christina had calmed down. It seemed that she was refusing to surface to the forefront of the twin's shared mind, and was barely responding to Rena herself.

"Death must be quite a trauma for her." Reimu observed quietly. She recalled when Rena explained her motivations, when she was killed by village full of bigots. Christina had been deeply troubled by her sister's death, and having ran away, and then she must have experienced that scene herself when she became aware of Rena's continued existence within. And to add to that, Lyra had been killed after telling her to flee, in a manner similar to how Rena had died. That couldn't have been good for her psyche.

Tara, dressed in a yukata as usual, moved to the patio, where she simply gazed in the direction of the nearest village. Elly, usually the one to do such a thing, stepped to the woman's side.

"Holding up okay?" Elly asked.

"Barely," Tara replied. "It's... impossible for me to believe, really. Lyra was precious to me. To all of us, and she was kind of a saviour to us, as well."

Elly looked somewhat surprised and interested. "Oh?"

Tara smiled ever so slightly. "It was probably coincidental, but Anya and I, we never had the best lives growing up, and then there's our Mistress' story... Sorry, we never introduced ourselves to you properly, have we?"

"I'm Elly," The gate keeper said, holding out her hand, which Tara shook. "That's a... cool gem thing you got there."

"Tara," The barrier maiden replied, "And yes, I quite like it myself, even if it the origin of my tragic tale."

Elly gave her a questioning look, and Tara chuckled softly. "I'm kidding, it's not so terrible, but it wasn't always the pretty thing everyone seemed to like."

Not sure of what to say, Elly merely joined in with the horizon gazing. Judging by the distant, longing look on Tara's face, she was remembering happier days. Elly hoped that it wouldn't become the default expression of everyone.

Meanwhile, Reimu and Genji were having a hushed argument. The old turtle was adamantly refusing that Reimu should fight any time soon. after all, she could collapse in the middle of a fight! The shrine maiden stalwartly denied that she was still sick, and was demanding that she go out and kick some ass. Neither side refused to back down.

At that moment, the door to Reimu's room opened, and Shujiko stumbled out. Seeing the surprised look on everyone's faces, she merely looked to Reimu and asked, "Um... isn't it a little early for a party?"

"...It's not a party." Reimu said slowly. "Uh, Shujiko... shouldn't you be in bed?"

Shujiko glanced at her torso, feeling the bandages underneath the robes she wore, a grimace on her face. "I dunno, I don't usually take wounds that serious. I tend to recover quickly, though."

"Get to bed, young lady." Genji stated firmly. "I'm not having two sickly girls push themselves too hard!"

Shujiko blinked at Genji in confusion. "...Two?"

"Never mind!" Reimu sighed, and gently pushed Shujiko back inside the bedroom. "I'll explain later, just go back to sleep!"

"But I'm wide awake!" Shujiko argued.

"Then _want_ to go to sleep!"

As the two girls had a small fight, everyone else watched in surprise, then mild amusement as Reimu apparently won the argument and stepped back into the shrine's main room, sighing as she closed the door.

"Well, at least she's nearly back to full health, ze!" Marisa chuckled.

"She won't be if she keeps trying to push herself," Reimu muttered. "She's still too badly hurt to do anything."

"Sounds a lot like a sickly shrine maiden who's determined to go out and fight when she should be resting." Genji said teasingly, and Reimu turned her head away from him, looking annoyed.

The Daidouji's glanced around the shrine, wondering how everyone else seemed to be making light of the situation. Was it all a front? It had to be. After all, they were dealing with incredibly dangerous people here, who were no doubt ready to kill again...

* * *

><p>Staring in surprise at the scene before her, the white-haired maid tried to make sense of the situation. She was quite sure she had died rather recently. However, the wound that she had died from was completely absent. A good thing too, because Lyra really didn't want to walk around with half her torso missing. Further more, instead of the light blue dress she had worn before her death, it was a black maid's uniform she wore. Odd.<p>

But where was she anyway? Behind her was a dark looking forest, and ahead of her was what appeared to be an ocean. It didn't look anything like a place Lyra had ever seen.

At the bank, Lyra noticed a wooden boat, big enough to fit two or three people, and a girl with pinkish red, twin-pigtailed hair snoozing inside of it, a scythe resting on her shoulder.

_... Well, I would like some answers..._ Lyra thought, cautiously approaching the sleeping girl. It seemed foolish to try and awaken a stranger with a weapon, but Lyra had already died anyway. She figured dying again was the least of her worries.

Reaching the small boat, Lyra leaned over and tapped the girl's shoulder. "Excuse me, miss? I urgently require your help."

The girl muttered something unintelligible as she lazily waved a hand in Lyra's general direction and tried to fall asleep once again.

With a sigh, Lyra pinched the girl's nose, causing her to grunt and jerk awake.

"Hey! Whaddya want?" The girl snapped irritably, rubbing her eyes. Before Lyra could reply, the girl peered at Lyra again, then realisation hit her.

"Oh, right. Crossing the river," The girl sighed, shifting her position to make a little more room. "Well, hop in then."

"Um... Why would I need to cross the river?" Lyra asked guardedly.

"Duh, to see the Yamaxanadu, so that she can judge you and stuff."

Lyra blinked in surprise. "'Judge'? What for? And... this is a river?" Lyra waved a hand at the expansive body of water before them, and the scythe-wielding girl whistled whistled in surprise as she turned her head to check.

"Damn, you've lead a looooooooooooong life." she muttered, fishing around in the pockets of her white dress and blue over top.

Finally, a small note book was procured, with black leather and 'K-Note' printed in white, ornate letters.

"Let's see here..." the red-headed girl flipped to the last page of the fairly thin note book, and her red eyes scanned whatever was written, while Lyra waited nervously.

"Name: Lyra Daidouji. Age: One thousand, three hundred and eighty five," The girl read, sounding fairly impressed. "Damn, it's hard to find a youkai who lives past eight hundred!"

"Can you explain to me why I'm here?" Lyra asked, not really sure why her personal details were being read to her.

As if she didn't hear, the girl kept on reading. "Occupation: Head Maid and servant of a long line of elected Master's in a secluded mansion hidden deep within Gensokyo's many mountain ranges. Cause of Death: Battle with dangerous individuals."

"Wait! How do you know that!" Lyra demanded to know, and the girl glanced at her with a riased eyebrow as she snapped the note book shut.

"Because I'm a shinigami, genius." The girl replied, holding out her hand. "Name's Komachi."

Lyra gave the girl, Komachi, a suspicious glance, but she slowly accepted her hand and shook briefly. "So, I guess I really am dead."

"What gave it away?"

"I take it you don't have a way to resurrect me, then?"

_Why does everyone always ask that?_ Komachi wondered with some impatience. Why did people find it so hard to accept death? It was a natural process of life, after all. Okay, so a lot of people who came by here were killed or went 'before their time', but that just meant they arrived sooner, rather than later.

Clearing her throat, Komachi recited a tired explanation. "All new souls must cross the 'Sanzu No Kawa' with me, Komachi the Shinigami, where a brief test will be held to determine the purity of your being. After which, the Yamaxanadu Shikieiki will decide your ultimate fate: A trip to Heaven, Hell, Hakyugokrou or Reincarnation."

"Reincarnation!" Lyra jumped at that last one, grabbing the shinigami's shoulders tightly. "I need reincarnated! How do I do that?"

"I told you, Shiki'll decide!" Komachi pulled the maid away from her. "Now, get on the boat so I can get this over with! I have a lot of work and hell of a lot more sleep to catch!"

With a brief word of apology, Lyra tentatively stepped onto the small, wooden boat, sitting across from Komachi, who rested her slightly curved scythe across her lap.

Noticing something was missing, Lyra asked, "Um, shouldn't you have an oar?"

"No need." Komachi replied, and the boat suddenly lurched forward, pulling away from the bank and drifting onto the river... ocean... thing, proper.

Casually sticking her hand into the water, Komachi gently moved her hand across the water, which seemed to propel the boat as if the shinigami were using an oar. Lyra watched, somewhat impressed, as the boat made surprisingly speedy progress.

"So... not a lot of traffic today." Lyra pointed out.

"I ship souls one at a time," Komachi explained, sounding somewhat bored. "Otherwise, the Sanzu No Kawa'd implode from the different width's."

Lyra gave Komachi a blank look, and she sighed. "Sorry, you won't know this stuff. The river changes size depending on your history. This place is practically an ocean thanks to your long life."

"Ah." Lyra looked at the featureless river/ocean, wondering why her life was represented as such. To be honest, Lyra would have found a giant store cupboard more fitting to traverse.

"So... how long will this take?"

Komachi glanced at the oceanic river analytically. "Probably three hours or so. Before you complain, it's your fault for living so long."

"...Uh." Lyra wasn't sure how to reply to that statement, and instead settled with a frustrated sigh. Three hours? What a waste of time! She needed to return right now! Who knew what was happening at this very moment?

* * *

><p><strong>~Midday~<strong>

"Ehehehe... this is great!" Meira chuckled darkly, sheathing her sword. All around her, people were screaming in terror as they ran from the ruins she had made of their homes. No one had died, and Meira had no reason to kill anyone. Not that she would have cared if someone was on the receiving end of her display of newfound power, but going out of her way to kill faceless masses seemed a waste of time. You couldn't test how useful a new battle technique is on a defenceless fool, after all.

With her eyes glowing a dark scarlet colour, Meira looked to the sky, in the Hakurei Shrine's direction, a small smile on her face.

"Come on, Shrine Maiden. I know you've noticed. Let me show you my true power!"

* * *

><p>"Time to storm the front gates." Mion commented as she and Kat approached the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Artimus had hung back to enter from the back or something.<p>

Kat was growling softly with anticipation, licking at her lips eagerly, while Mion wore a slight smile. As stupid as the plan sounded, Mion was looking forward to kicking some ass. Although, she would need to be careful not to fight more than one opponent, or she could be in trouble, but that was why Kat was here.

And with the sun shining brilliantly in the sky, neither of the Scarlet sisters were in a position to fight. Outside, at least. That lessened the potential opposition to the maid (who, come to think of it, bore a slight resemblance to that nuisance from last night), the librarian and the guard.

Said guard was currently standing to attention by the front door, resisting the urge to doze off again. With a glance to her more feral companion, the two strolled through the forest path that led to the front gates and simply walked inside, kicking the gates open as they did.

Meiling immediately noticed the intrusion, and leaped forward, stopping ten feet away from them.

"You're that girl from the other night?" Meiling asked, readying herself for a fight. Her eyes wandered over to the other girl. "...You wouldn't happen to be the monster that tried to eat Koa, would you?"

Grinning widely, Kat replied, "Eat lots! Unknown name! Tasty anyway!"

Glaring coldly at the two of them, Meiling continued, "And you're here to kidnap Flandre? Sorry, but this is where you die if you really intend to go through with that plan."

"Ooh, tough gal, ain't ya?" Mion said mockingly, pretending to cower in fear. "Heh, then again, I'm picking up next to nothing in terms of battle ability from you. Pathetic."

Meiling gave Mion a look of confusion. Low combat ability? her? What was she on about?

"Whatever. Kathy, devour her." Mion ordered, and Mion dashed madly at Meiling, teeth bared menacingly.

The gate keeper immediately focused on the battle, eliminating all other thoughts. At the speed that the feral creature was going, her danmaku would be ineffective. That left...

Mion jabbed forward with her right hand, which Meiling effortlessly caught with her own. Using Kat's momentum against her, Meiling swung Kat in a full circle, before throwing her at a surprised Mion, who caught her youkai pet as they were both sent flying back towards the gates.

"Am I pathetic now?" Meiling asked smugly, arms folded. Her danmaku may not be ridiculously overpowered, but the one thing Meiling would never lose at was a physical battle.

Stumbling back to their feet, Mion and Kat glowered at Meiling. "Don't get cocky, Kat only let her guard down." Mion said, and Kat nodded in agreement.

"Fine, I'll humiliate you both again!" Meiling declared. "And that's a merciful action, considering what Sakuya and Lady Remilia would do to you!"

"As if a maid and a vampire brat even come close to being a threat!" Mion snorted. "Now, Kat, destroy her! And watch yourself!"

With a menacing snarl, Kat charged forward once again, intent on eliminating Meiling, then the other residents of the mansion, and bathing in their blood.

Meiling was ready to counter, but Kat seemed a little more prepared. Just as the feral creature attempted to flatten the gate keeper's nose, she feinted to the right, ducking low and sweeping at Meiling's legs.

However, the powerful gate keeper was surprisingly agile and swift, easily leaping away from the attack. Just as surprisingly, Kat acted as if she had expected the dodge, as she suddenly straightened herself and leaped at Meiling once again, jabbing at her midsection.

Meiling was just able to block the blow, although it disrupted her balance, forcing her into a backward roll when she touched ground. Kat took the opportunity to leap onto her and attempt to chew her throat clean off.

After a second's struggle, the gatekeeper managed to push the snapping jaws away from her skin, and delivered a headbutt to her opponent, which forced Kat back as she howled in pain, blood flowing from her nose and lips.

"That was a cheap shot!" Mion yelled at Meiling, looking livid. "How can you consider that fair?"

"'Fair'?" Meiling repeated, brushing her hands as she glared at Mion. "Why would I extend such a courtesy to the likes of you? Besides, since when was attempting to eat one's opponent considered 'fair'?"

Growling with rage, Mion clenched her fist, wondering why that girl was so strong, despite the relatively little power she was mirroring from her. Was it her danmaku skill that sucked? Damn it, yet another weakness to her skill...

"Strong girl," Kat grunted, her voice slightly slurred from the injured nose. "Preferred enemy!"

Mion glanced at Kat in confusion as the feral youkai grinned eagerly, while Meiling watched warily.

Kat stepped forward slowly, grinning widely and licking at her blood-stained lips, as if relishing in the battle._ Is she enjoying getting her ass kicked?_ Meiling wondered, ready to counter once again.

With a sudden, echoing howl, Kat dashed madly at Meiling, who almost sighed at the predictability. It was practically the same attack over and over.

And yet, when Meiling moved to intercept a punch, Kat grabbed at her arms, as if knowing Meiling would attempt to counter.

Frowning in irritation, Meiling attempted to wrench Kat's grip from herself by slamming her into the ground, but the feral monster was surprisingly strong, slowly but surely forcing Meiling's arms apart.

_W-where's she getting that strength?_ Meiling wondered in shock. She had never encountered anyone who was (physically) as strong as her! To be able to do this much...

Kat was still grinning, apparently enjoying herself, while Mion watched with approval. It was always nice to see Kat gain the upper hand in battles.

"Your blood... Smells nice." Kat whispered as softly as one who spoke mainly in growls could, before baring her teeth and plunged her teeth into Meiling's neck.

Or, she would have, if Meiling hadn't brought her knee up to meet with Kat's jaw. A sharp, snapping sound was heard as Kat found herself lifted off the ground and sailing a few feet away, landing with a painful thud onto her back.

"Phew, close call." Meiling grinned. "I take it 'feral' translates to 'stupid' or something? She left herself wide open for that one!"

"K-Kat!" Mion cried out, rushing to her side. The feral youkai sat up slowly, wincing and gingerly touching her broken jaw. That was going to make eating quite difficult for a few hours.

Still, Kat didn't seem enraged. Rather, she smiled lopsidedly as she rose to her feet.

"S'long o'onint." Kat spoke, her words barely decipherable. "No dan'a'oo, glea' figh'!"

"But... she's a filthy cheater!" Mion argued, apparently able to understand the slurred words quite well. "That weak idiot has to come up with cheap tricks to win! How's that fun?"

"And how, pray tell, is killing any fun?" Meiling asked coldly, slowly approaching. Mion glared angrily at her, quickly deciding that destroying that annoying woman swiftly was her top priority now.

"I would explain, but you don't look like you could comprehend simple words, so I'll spare you the trouble." Mion replied, and Meiling looked slightly aggravated at the insult.

At that moment, the door to the mansion flew open, and everyone glanced in the direction of the newcomer.

Stepping slowly, the tiny librarian walked towards the combatants, staring coldly at Mion and Kat, holding a large tome in her hands.

"Patchy! There's no need to help, I can take them on myself!" Meiling told the librarian.

"Is that the one who attacked Koakuma yesterday?" Patchouli asked, pointing at Kat, who stared suspiciously at her. Meiling confirmed that it was.

Her expression remaining even, Patchouli floated to Meiling's side, keeping her gaze on Kat.

"Sakuya and Remi are with Flandre." Patchouli aid to the gate keeper. "There is no need for me to be there too. Besides, there's a few words I would like to say to that girl."

Mion simply gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes. "What is it with you people? Who the hell is Koakuma anyway?"

"You can have that one, China." Patchouli told Meiling, who looked somewhat troubled.

"But, that crazy one's strong and fast. You might not get your spells out in ti-"

"China, don't you dare under-estimate me," Patchouli warned, sounding dangerous despite no changes to her tone. "Do what I say, and leave that one to me."

Kat growled, ignoring the pain it caused to her jaw. She didn't want to fight that stupid librarian! The guard was the one Kat wanted to fight! Who the hell was she to barge in and change things up?

Mion didn't much like the set up either. Against Meiling, her overall power was low, and she didn't have Meiling's physical prowess. Well, there was a few Chaos Arts available to use, but Mion couldn't quite rely on illusions.

Then again, they were only decoys. It didn't matter if the match ups were terrible, they wouldn't be fighting long enough to run into serious trouble. They would just need to stall...

* * *

><p>"And again, I am stuck in the kitchen." Alice sighed to herself, sitting at the kotatsu. Shangai, fluttering around the shrine's ceiling, said to Alice,<p>

"But master, no one has confined you to the kitchen! You are currently in the main room of the Hakurei Shrine! To say that the kitchen is your only area of confinement is an inaccuracy that may lead to misunderstandings!"

"...Thank you Shangai, your lack of knowledge on sarcasm continues to shine brightly."

"You're very welcome, master!"

From the kitchen, Reimu voice drifted out, calling to the doll master, "And what the hell are you so annoyed about? I'm the one stuck here because a stupid turtle can't tell that I'm back to normal!"

Said old turtle, laying on the patio next to Anya, called back sarcastically, "my deepest apologies, Lady Reimu. How dare I not worry about the health of my silly little child?"

"...Wait, you're related?" Anya asked in mild confusion.

"No Anya, he means he's Reimu's guardian," Rena sighed. "Which is still a little weird, come to think of it."

Reimu emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray which held a pot of tea and several cups, which she slammed onto the kotatsu. "Well, excuse me for having anxestors who thought over-protective turtles were a necessary part of this shrine!" she snapped irritably.

It was clear that pretty much everyone remaining in the shrine was in a bad mood. Another disturbance was noticed by Elly and Tara. Along with Marisa, the three decided to check it out, and the rest were left behind for various reasons.

Reimu stayed behind because, as previously noted, Genji was still worried about her health, despite Reimu's claims that she was pretty much fully recovered. Marisa had insisted that Alice stay behind again, and although she complied, Alice was still far from happy with the deal. Rena decided not to investigate until she could at least get Christina to open herself up again, and Anya remained due to having no real combat ability, outside of projecting illusions, and Tara was very adamant that she stay with Rena.

Feeling as if they were being left out of the spot light and/or unappreciated, the various girls, minus Anya (who was a little glad to not have to fight, but immensely worried for Tara's safety) and Genji weren't feeling very upbeat.

Shujiko slowly emerged from Reimu's room once again, not very willing to go to sleep when she could sense an air of unease around the shrine. From outside, an occasional fairy flitted around, causing her to wonder why fairies were suddenly hanging around the shrine.

"Shujiko, why are you still up?" Reimu sighed, sitting herself down by the kotatsu. "You aren't going to heal any faster if you keep moving around."

"How can I sit this whole thing out?" Shujiko asked. "I need to help out! And I do have a little score to settle with that crazily insane girl!"

"So does everyone by now," Alice muttered dully, resting her head upon her fist. "As well as her owners, or whoever they are."

Shujiko blinked in confusion. "Owners? I thought there was just the one?"

"Nah, there's t-Wait, you know one of them?" Reimu asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah. The crazy girl was called back by someone before I could really fight back," Shujiko brushed at the area where her wounds had been most severe. "Then again, she got me before I could get truly serious, so I wouldn't have been able to do much..."

"We'd best inform you of what you don't know then." Alice sighed, indicating a spot for Shujiko to sit. She might as well fill her time going over what happened, especially since she still had no dolls to build.

* * *

><p><strong>Blatant fan service somewhere in the chapter. I bet it adds a whole lot of depth and meaning, huh?<strong>

**Anyway, in this chapter I introduce Komachi, the shinigami girl, who I know next to nothing about. But, I do a lot of experimenting with characters (I kind of have to, really), and she seems like a pretty interesting character. I may or may not have gotten the whole river width thing completely wrong though.**

**Also, it's pretty hard writing a fight scene that makes the villain a legitimate threat, while trying not to make her opponent seem incredibly weak and powerless in comparison. Well, maybe Artimus is having better luck at being an actual threat...**

**I other news, I'll be posting a crossover fic with Kingdom Hearts/Touhou soon enough. I need something much lighter and softer to write about after all, and I figure I should have at least one KH-related story to my name. Look out for it if it interests you.**


	10. Chapter 10 Broken Minds

In the middle of a panicking village, the swordswoman stood alone, a hand resting on the hilt of her sheathed blade. It shouldn't be long now. Reimu Hakurei would be arriving within moments, acting like saving the villagers was a huge bother, and that Meira was beneath her.

_Let's see her think that after I demonstrate my new power._ Meira thought darkly, a smile stretching her lips. Those spell cards were practically humming with power, and she had only opened the casing that they came with!

And she could see three people coming now, from the direction of the shrine. Her smile slowly faded as she noticed that Hakurei wasn't among the group. Instead, there was a girl riding on a broomstick, another with a scythe, and the third was the oldest looking, and carried a sword with her.

_Who the hell are they?_ Meira wondered, glaring at the trio. _Are they lackey's of that damn maiden?_

One of the girls, the one on the broom, pointed at Meira, maybe said something, and the three homed in on Meira's location, eventually landing about twelve feet away.

"So what's a suspicious looking girl doing, standing around while the rest of the village is either vacant or in disarray?" Elly asked, stepping forward.

"Where is Hakurei?" Meira replied.

"We asked a question first!" Marisa interjected, pointing her Hakkero at Meira. "Now tell us, are you with Artimus too?"

Restraining a frustrated sigh, Meira glanced at the group once again, trying to determine if they were even remotely close to a hindrance. Probably not, seeing as she held those powerful spell cards, but if any of these three had a trick up their sleeve...

"You'll be referring to that man in the suit?" Meira chuckled drily, "Well, maybe. I'm just doing him a little favour. Now, I'll ask again: Where is Reimu Hakurei? Hiding back at her crappy little shrine?"

_The hell does she want with Reimu?_ Marisa wondered. "Like hell I'm telling you, ze! You'd better surrender quietly, or your face is redecorating the roads!"

"Scary," Meira replied, now gripping the sheathe of her sword tightly. "Fine, if you won't tell me, I'll cut the answers from you!"

"A blade dulled by impure intentions is nothing more than a toy," Tara replied coldly, drawing her own sword and stepping forward. "That sword is useless."

Meira stared at Tara in surprise for a few moments, then burst out laughing, her whole body shaking as she struggled to control her laughter.

Tara simply watched impassively, with Marisa and Elly bemused, as she waited for Meira's laughing fit to subside.

"Oh my, that's a good one!" Meira giggled, wiping away a tear. "My blade is dulled, you say? Well, why not put it to the test?"

"Fine." Tara replied, her gaze cold and calculating.

"Wow wow wow, wait up!" Marisa spoke up. "Why are you fighting alone? That's not done much good so far, remember?"

"... I know," Tara said calmly. "But I promise, I won't lose to this woman. I can see that she is blinded by greed."

Marisa glanced at Meira in confusion. Greed? How did Tara deduce that?

Meira however, only laughed at the accusation. "'Greed'? Sure, whatever you say."

The women seemed to size each other up as they stepped closer to each other, until they were ten paces apart.

"Don't interfere," Tara told her companions. "You'd best make sure there aren't any injured."

"I'll save you the trouble, I didn't touch anyone here." Meira informed them.

"Is that so?" Tara's cold smile increased slightly in size. "Well, perhaps there's hope for you after all."

"Enough of this, let's just begin." Meira said, and swiftly drew her blade in a wide, arcing motion. Barely a second later, Tara felt something slam into her midsection, and dropped to one knee with a surprised grunt.

Meira grinned as she sheathed her sword again, glaring condescendingly at Tara.

"Hey, you all right?" Marisa asked.

"What just happened?" Elly asked, mostly to herself. She glanced at Meira's blade, trying to deduce what the swordswoman had done. All she had done was draw her sword...

Meira rose to her feet again, her smile returned. "That was an 'Iai Strike', wasn't it?"

"Heh, you've heard of it?" Meira sneered. "Yeah, it's Iaido. The ultimate sword art."

"Is it now?" Tara asked with a laugh. Immediately, she dashed forward, quickly closing the gap between her and Meira, who simply tutted and drew her sword again, swatting at Tara fast enough for the human eye to barely follow.

Tara expected the attack however, and quickly side stepped to her right. Keeping her pace, Tara raised her blade and attempted to strike at Meira's unprotected side, but her opponent quickly switched hands, her blade now in her right hand, and parried Tara's attack.

_Odd, I'm sure this person is human, yet her speed is beyond that..._ Tara wondered with a frown.

Meira simply grinned, and hopped back, gaining space. She swung her sword again, and bullets began to fly from the tip as it arced the air. Soon, a dozen or so bullets were aimlessly flying around the air, obstructing Tara's path.

Using her gained time, Tara sheathed her sword yet again, and used her Iai Strike technique, firing bullets at insane speeds.

Tara was able to avoid the Iai bullets, but barely. Her yukata had already received several nicks and tears from where the cloth hung freely.

"What the hell? Why won't she use her barriers?" Marisa wondered, and Elly glanced at the witch curiously. "Those bullets aren't enough to break her defence..."

Tara, growing tired of the constant evading, swung her own sword, and her own bullets were fired in Meira's direction. Most of them collided with her opponents lingering bullets, but at least they dispersed, opening up the path.

With one of Meira's Iai bullets grazing her left shoulder, Tara gritted her teeth and quickly approached, her blade held aloft as she charged.

Tutting at the assault, Meira held her sword in the right hand, and her sheathe in the left. She would block with the sheathe, then strike with her blade, and hopefully end this pointless battle quickly.

However, just as Tara swung her sword, she feinted to the right, twirling her body and kicking at Meira's side.

With a grunt of pain and surprise, Meira used the momentum of the kick to roll away, quickly raising sword and sheathe to defend herself, but Tara hadn't approached. Instead, she held her blade as if about to swing a bat.

"I don't know what you intend to do with Miss Reimu, but that level of skill isn't even close to being a threat to her." Tara said evenly, and Meira glared at her opponent in response.

"Now, let's end this." Tara continued, her blade glowing a dull, pinkish red as she swung her sword, a tear seemingly opening in the air.

"Zantetsuken: Demon Blade Bullet!"

Large, red orbs began to pour from the tear and shower Meira, who yelled in surprise and tried to swat them away, to little avail.

Tara sheathed her blade, watching as her technique began to fade. With only one stroke, the attack wouldn't last long, but against someone like an arrogant human, it was pretty much overkill. Then again, something about Meira had been off.

"You're finished," Tara informed the heavily panting figure, who slowly raised her head and glared at the woman with a gem in her forehead. "Stay still, and I won't have to use any more force."

"Screw you!" Meira snarled, her eyes darkening slightly. "I have business with that damned shrine maiden! You won't stop me!"

"I just did." Tara turned and walked back to Marisa and Elly, who looked fairly impressed.

"Not bad, Tara!" Marisa congratulated. "You didn't even use your shield thingy!"

Chuckling modestly, Tara replied, "Oh, it wasn't that impressive, I just-" Feeling something was wrong, Tara immediately whirled around to look at Meira, only to find that she was on her feet, glaring daggers at Tara.

"You haven't won!" Meira snarled, a black slip of paper clutched in her left hand. "I won't let you win! You are nothing!"

_What the...?_ Tara wondered what the hell was going on with this woman. She could feel a strange energy around her, something massive and inhuman. That thing in her hand... was it some sort of spell card?

There was no time to ponder, as the card apparently faded from existence, while Meira smirked.

"Let's see just how good his spell cards are," She muttered to herself. "Excal-Blade!"

Meira's sword began to glow with a pale golden aura, as well as a frighteningly black mass of energy.

_What the hell is going on with that sword?_ Tara wondered. She'd never heard of such a spell, but Tara could feel it wasn't an ordinary spell.

Meira swung the blade, and the two coloured energies arced from the blade, shooting at the group rapidly.

Marisa and Elly immediately moved to try and intercept it with their own spells, but Tara swiftly grabbed their shoulders, keeping them behind her as her gem flared to life. Less than a second later, blinding pain filled her head as Tara's barrier was struck.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, another battle was underway. Patchouli Knowledge and Hong Meiling were facing off against Mion and Kathy, with the mansion residents holding the upper hand.<p>

Kat, normally able to effortlessly weave through bullets to strike her victim, found herself beaten back again and again by the purple librarian's magic. Patchouli herself wore a blank expression as she effortlessly chained her spells together, throwing what was normally weak, distracting magic attacks with the force of a high level spell.

Mion was unfortunate enough to get into a fist fight with Meiling.

With a fist planted in her stomach, the wind was knocked from her lungs as Mion sailed through the air, crashing into the stone wall that surrounded the mansion.

Choking for air, Mion struggled to her hands and knees while Meiling approached, a cold glare in her own eyes as she effortlessly beat her opponent.

"I feel almost guilty about this." Meiling said, grabbing the neck of Mion's dress and lifting her up. Now Mion's own dress was interfering with her breathing, and her skin slowly turned blue as she fought for breath.

"You don't really seem strong at all..." Meiling muttered, before roughly dropping her to the ground. Spluttering and indignant with rage, Mion clutched at a ribbon tied to her fore arm, desperate to do something and turn the tables.

Meiling chose this moment to glance nervously at the battle between Patchouli and Kat, oblivious to Mion's scrambling for a ribbon. To her relief, Patchouli seemed to be in complete control. Every time Kat so much as snarled, Patchy would throw several dozen bullets, and if Kat tried to approach, she ended up having to eat one the elementalist's stronger spells.

Kat was, understandably, aggravated beyond words at how easily she was shot down. That annoying little thing wouldn't even fill Kat's stomach, and she was keeping her at bay? No, that wasn't right!

"What a pitiful creature," Patchouli spoke flatly. "No mind to call your own, bloodlust is your dominant attribute, and you can't fire even a single bullet. Why do they even keep you alive?"

In response, Kat simply roared and rushed forward again, moving to evade the bullets sent her way. She dodged the first volley, then the second... and was met with a wall of earth that erupted from the ground.

Coughing out the dirt that entered her mouth, Kat struck the wall, only managing to dislodge a clump of dirt.

"I wonder, can you even understand emotion?" Patchouli continued, as if Kat hadn't just lunged at her for the trillionth time. "Can you understand how others feel when you attempt to kill?"

With a soft growl, Kat replied, "Others, food! Feelings pointless!"

"Are they?" Patchouli chuckled darkly. "Are they pointless when those emotions beat you down again and again? Can you guess which emotion powers this?"

From Patchouli's side, a bright, violet laser suddenly burst forth and struck Mion's chest, which sent her careening towards the eastern wall, howling loudly.

With a cold smile on her face, the little librarian made to follow the feral creature when Meiling suddenly yelled, "No, Patchy!"

Glancing at the gate keeper in confusion, Meiling looked horrified, although Patchouli didn't know why.

Meiling made to run to Patchouli, who yelled, "Idiot, don't leave that girl unattended!"

However, the gate keeper didn't seem to hear. Instead, she simply ran to Patchouli's side, then kneeled to the ground, staring at the space in front of the librarian's feet.

"Im-impossible... She was winning..." Meiling muttered with wide, teary eyes.

"...China, what on earth are you talking about?" Patchouli asked, feeling a little uneasy.

Meiling glanced at Patchouli, hatred now filling her eyes. "You bitch! You killed Patchy!"

"What? China, what the hell-" Patchy argued, and found herself hastily ducking a blow to her head, and retreating swiftly, surprise etched upon her face.

"I'll kill you for this!" Meiling snarled, looking positively frightening, and Patchouli never realised that the gate keeper could be so intimidating.

"Hong, it's me! What's wrong with you?" Patchouli demanded to know, and chanced a glance at Mion. the silver haired girl was kneeling on one knee, clutching one of her ribbons in her hand. Despite how strained her face looked, she was smiling in content.

_Can she control minds?_ Patchouli wondered briefly. _No, that can't be it..._

Patchouli barely avoided another strike from Meiling, and tried to reason with her again. "Hong, please stop! You know me! I'm Patchouli! Patchouli Knowledge! We live in the mansion together!"

"Shut up with your infernal snarling!" Meiling roared, and threw another punch, which Patchouli had to block with her tome. the force of the blow was still enough to send the librarian backwards, and the tome slipped from her grasp as she hit the ground, hard.

Gasping in surprise, Patchouli had the wind knocked out of her, and immediately began to cough and choke at the same time. With Patchouli's numerous health problems, her situation had become rather dire.

Meiling was immediately by Patchouli's side, glaring coldly at her, and Patchouli had never known fear like it. She may have several health problems, but death had never felt like it loomed over her shoulder, anticipating the day she dropped dead. In Danmaku duels, death was clearly a non-issue, even if using her full power proved virtually impossible. But with Meiling apparently controlled or crazed, Patchouli felt like her time was at an end.

With a swift kick to her stomach, Patchouli doubled over and vomited blood, before slowly passing out. Meiling cracked her knuckles, perhaps to finish the ailing elementalist, when the ground suddenly shook beneath them.

Both Meiling and Mion were surprised, and the ribbon-clad girl suddenly gasped in pain, dropping her ribbon and collapsing herself. Sweat was pouring from her body, and she breathed heavily, as if she had strained herself terribly.

Meiling blinked in confusion. From her point of view, the bleeding body of the crazy youkai was slowly fading from existence, and another, smaller body was taking her place.

Horror and realisation dawned on herface when she saw Patchouli on the ground, horribly bruised, blood slowly leaking from her lips, and her skin which steadily turned blue...

"P-Patchy?" Meiling whimpered, realising what she had just done. Somehow, she'd been tricked. "P-Patchy, I-I... don't die, I'll get you help!"

The librarian only coughed weakly, her breathing laboured, and Meiling felt a fresh burst of anger as she slowly turned to face Mion.

"... I'll break you," Meiling promised the struggling girl. "I'll rip your skeleton from your body, and make no mistake when I say that we have ways to keep you alive when that happens. Hope you'll enjoy being my new punching bag."

"Yeah, have fun with that..." Mion gasped. "Meanwhile, you might wanna try putting your friend outta her misery. Letting her struggle to live like that is far more cruel than what I can do."

At those words, Meiling outstretched her hands and fired several, rainbow-like bullets, which arced and struck the defenceless Mion, who yelled in pain as the bullets rained down.

* * *

><p>"Funny, these places usually have some sort of secret entrance..." Artimus muttered to himself, stepping through the small hole he'd created in the wall. Dusting his hands, Artimus glanced around the room, seeing that he had arrived in some sort of gymnasium-like area. Several large apparatus lay around the room, and if the punching bags and devices crudely recreated from outworld sources were any indication, this was where the gate keeper would spend her time between her job and sleeping. Artimus wondered if the room even saw any use.<p>

Well, that wasn't important. What mattered was descending to the basement to meet with his promising new team mate. With not a soul to be seen, Artimus casually strolled into the hallway.

He had made his own entrance from the back of the mansion, as close to the area where the basement's entrance would be as possible. If he remembered the layout right, Artimus simply took a left here...

A few minutes later, Artimus reached the foyer, where many doors on the upper and lower floors led off to a myriad of other rooms. None of the doors stood out, but Artimus had an idea of which one to take, and walked to one of the doors. As he reached out to grasp the handle, Artimus felt a cold, steel blade press against the back of his neck, and chuckled.

"Ah, I should have figured you'd be in the way." Artimus said conversationally. Sakuya simply glared at him, worried that he had guessed the basement's location so easily.

"Call your pets off, and I may not kill you on the spot." Sakuya said coldly.

"They aren't my 'pets', Miss Head Maid, and trying to call them off now would only result in a violent temper tantrum," Artimus sighed with mock exasperation. "That, and I'm not too worried about their status."

With disapproval obvious in her voice, Sakuya said, "You don't care for them? How thoughtful."

"Oh, it's not that..." Artimus replied, sounding completely at ease. "It's just that, no matter how badly they may be outclassed, one of them will pull out a trump card and ruin everything. In fact, I suspect your friends are receiving rather hefty damage as we speak."

"Patchouli and Meiling can handle your companions," Sakuya growled dangerously. "Now, step away from the door, and don't make any sudden movements."

Artimus merely chuckled at the threat. "No sudden movements? Why, Miss Head Maid, you should have said that earlier!"

Sakuya was confused for a moment, before a sense of impending danger crept upon her, and she immediately dodged to the side, the pocket watch clutched in her other hand springing open.

All around the maid, time seemed to freeze. Even the air felt still and unmoving. Naturally, this meant that Sakuya couldn't spend too long in this state, or else there were going to be Patchouli-level breathing problems. Not that Sakuya would need to freeze time for that long.

Scanning the area, Sakuya saw nothing that would have set of an internal alarm. Only Artimus was present, and he was currently frozen as well. Had it been her imagination, brought on by a bluff? Well, it didn't matter. Sakuya held the upper hand.

Placing the watch into a pocket in her apron, Sakuya then produced several knives, three held in each hand. the blades were short and straight, designed to be held between her fingers. Sakuya slowly circled Artimus, flicking a knife at him at regular intervals. the blades would stop in the air immediately, but that wasn't a problem. They would regain momentum instantly, when Sakuya stopped her pocket watch.

When each of her knives were floating around Artimus' sides and back, Sakuya stepped back, gripped her watch, and unfroze time. Her knives immediately launched and embedded themselves within Artimus' body. He barely reacted beyond a grunt, and stared at the knives sticking from his arms, back and hips, a curious expression on his face.

"That's a rather interesting power you have, Miss Head Maid. I would love to see it used for greater purposes, but..."

Artimus began to non-chalantly pull the blades from his body, taking no notice of the blood that poured from his wounds.

_He's no normal opponent..._ Sakuya thought to herself. Even a youkai should be slowed by those wounds. _Is he a high class youkai?_

"Tell me, would you consider helping us out when Flandre joins us?" Artimus asked, and Sakuya's expression immediately darkened. "I mean, it's not like you could hope to defeat me, and no doubt Flandre would be beyond your skills."

"... Flandre would never join you," Sakuya said dangerously, pointing another knife at Artimus. "And even if she did, I've beaten countless vampires in my life time."

"Ah, a vampire hunter?" Artimus chuckled. "My, you _are_ old! Ah, by the way..."

Something wrapped it's arm around Sakuya's neck and under her arm holding the knife, gripping her tightly. Gasping in surprise, Sakuya tried to reverse her grip on the knife and strike her assailant's side, but whoever had grabbed her was carefully positioned to avoid the strikes.

"You seem to have forgotten that sense of danger from earlier," Artimus said in a mock chiding voice. "Tut tut, Miss Hunter!"

The arm tightened around her neck, and Sakuya was fighting harder and harder to breathe, while glaring loathfully at Artimus.

"That should keep you busy for a little while." Artimus said with a chuckle, turning back to the door and opening it, stepping through.

_Mistress!_ Sakuya struggled harder to dislodge herself, and eventually settled for stamping her attacker's foot. Her enemy didn't seem pained, but it loosened its grip regardless. Sakuya took this chance to headbutt her attacker, and she was finally free. Swiftly whirling on the spot, Sakuya raised a blade to her attacker's neck, and stopped when she saw what it was. A shadow.

It seemed to be her own, if the figure was any indication, but how? What was going on? With a quick glance to the floor, Sakuya saw that there was no shadow underneath her.

_Is that his real power?_ Sakuya wondered, glaring at the shadow again. It had no features, which was obvious, but it clearly had a solid body.

"... Would you really try and stop me?" Sakuya asked, feeling a little foolish for speaking to the shadow, but a nod confirmed that it at least understood her words. "Well, too bad."

Sakuya gripped her watch and time stopped once again. The shadow remained still, and Sakuya quickly turned and dashed for the door. Artimus wouldn't have gotten far, and he may still be within the range of her watch...

"However, a black object flew over her shoulder, and Sakuya glanced back to see that the shadow was still moving.

_What?_ Sakuya was shocked to see that her ability did nothing. Then again, it was her shadow... if it shared her immunity, despite not being in possession of the watch, that made freezing time pretty useless.

"Damn it, I don't have time to deal with you!" Sakuya yelled at the shadow. In response, it pulled another shadowy knife from an invisible pocket, taking aim.

With a frustrated sigh, Sakuya took out a knife of her own. "Fine, I'll make this quick!"

* * *

><p>Humming merrily to himself, Artimus casually strolled through the basement corridors, quickly coming across a giant, steel door that no doubt barred access to Flandre Scarlet's room. If her power was any indication, the door was mainly used to keep people out. A few tonnes of steel was far from enough to stop the little vampire.<p>

There was no obvious way to open the door, indicating that some sort of spell was required. Well, Artimus didn't really have the time to go through every permutation of an unlocking spell, and instead went for a quicker route.

"Well, let's try and keep collateral damage to a minimum..." Artimus muttered to himself, and clenched his fist, which began to glow a pale crimson colour. "Chaos Arts: Final Fist."

Artimus threw a punch at the door, which immediately disintegrated at his touch. The door steadily dissolved from the point that Artimus struck, below center and to the right. Flandre Scarlet's room slowly revealed itself, with a figure standing watch on the other side. A quick glance showed that it was the Scarlet Devil, and head of the mansion. Remilia Scarlet.

The elder vampire sister wore a steely, cold glare as Artimus stepped inside. He glanced around the slightly messy room and asked, "Why, hello Remilia! I was wondering if your sister was present? I'd like a word with her."

"You're going to die now," Remilia stated bluntly. "I don't know how you bypassed Sakuya, but you will never beat me."

"Ah, must we fight?" Artimus said in mock anguish. "After all, it's not like I plan to mistreat your sister! Hell, we're simply showing her the world she belongs in!"

Anger flashing through her crimson eyes, Remilia pointed her palm to Artimus. "Spear the Gungnir."

Almost instantly, bullets launched from her hand, forming the shape of a spear in the small distance between Remilia and Artimus, which then struck Artimus' torso.

Stumbling back a step, Artimus grunted as the spear-shaped danmaku spread seemed to simply faze through his body, rushing straight down the hallway behind him before dispersing.

"Oof... That's a strong one," Artimus chuckled to himself, caressing his chest. "Perhaps you're title isn't just childish bragging after all."

Remilia smiled coldly, her fangs glinting maliciously. "You want to know why I am the Scarlet Devil?"

"I would be interested to see the reason, yes." Artimus replied politely.

"Very well, you shall die in a glorious bath of blood and realm of devils!" Remilia clasped her hands together, as if in prayer, before pointing her fingertips to the floor and waving her arms in a semi circle before her.

At once, an odd circle of scarlet light formed under Remilia's feet, a demonic symbol decorating the centre.

As Artimus watched with an intrigued look, Remilia muttered, "This is Heaven's Punishment. Star of David, grant me your demonic strength!"

_Her childishness shines through, even now..._ Artimus thought to himself in amusement. _There's no need for the pointless theatrics._

Remilia glared at Artimus, her eyes glowing a deeper red than before, as the circle began to shrink and disperse. When it had disappeared, Remilia was grinning coldly, almost sadistically.

"And now, the Scarlet Devil will hand down your sentence." Remilia spoke, and Artimus merely smiled.

"Oh? And the charges?"

"Attempting to abduct and corrupt my sister being the main one," Remilia began. "There's attacking my home, attacking my servants, and attacking me. That, and I hate you."

Artimus laughed merrily to himself, and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the storm of bullets heading his way.

"Enough talk! Die and burn in hell!" Remilia roared, her cold calmness replaced with rage.

Shielding his face with an arm, Artimus was slowly forced back by the bullets, apparently unable to fight back. When he was outside the room, Remilia halted her assault.

Placing a thumb to one of her fangs, she unflinchingly pierced her digit, allowing the blood to run down to her hand.

When she felt the wound was deep enough, Remilia pointed her bleeding thumb to the ground, where the drops seemed to reveal yet another scarlet circle.

"Curse of Vlad Tepes." Remilia muttered, and one by one, blood stained knives began to fly from the circle. forming a semi circle above Remilia, she pointed at Artimus, who still wore an intrigued look.

At Remilia's command, the knives launched themselves at Artimus. He was able to side step and duck them fairly easily, although he was aware that the knives had turned and were shooting for his back.

"By the way, is this how your lovely maid learned her tricks?" Artimus asked conversationally, finding himself barely able to avoid the many thrusts thrown at him. Remilia didn't answer, instead focusing on ending Artimus now.

The blood that adorned the knives began to separate themselves from the knives. Despite his almost frantic dodging, Artimus noticed that the blood seemed to be turning into bullets. Not a second later, the additional bullets joined the assault, and it wasn't long before Artimus simply stopped and allowed the various knives and bullets to strike him.

_Has he given up?_ Remilia wondered suspiciously._ No... that can't be it... What're you planning?_

Remilia re-doubled her assault, the bloody bullets and knives increasing in speed and ferocity. Artimus merely stood there, his body jerking to the blows.

Remilia held her hand aloft once again, glaring at Artimus. "I summon thee, my bloody spear, Gungnir!"

Bats, arriving from seemingly nowhere, fluttered towards the vampire's hand and began to cluster, forming a vague shape as they gathered. Eventually, a crimson glow emanated from the flock, and they seemed to merge together, leaving behind a large spear, tipped with a blood-stained blade.

Remilia gave the lance a disgusted glance before focusing on Artimus. Remilia never liked the physical manifestation of the Gungnir. It represented a duty Remilia would never allow it to fulfil. However, there was one thing the damned blade could do...

Remilia sped forward, hovering off the ground slightly as she charged. the blade pointed directly at Artimus' chest, she thrust forward the instant a gap appeared in the formation of her knives and blood.

However, Artimus suddenly grabbed hold of the blade at the very same instant, stepping aside to avoid getting stabbed himself. Her concentration broken, the bloody knives dropped to the ground, where they seemed to melt away.

_How did he-?_Remilia wondered in shock, but was given no more time to ponder. Gripping the spear just below the blade tightly, Artimus merely smiled cheerfully, despite the numerous gashes covering his body.

"A lovely display! I can see why you earned your title!" Artimus complimented, and gave the spear a curious glance. "So, this is the real thing, then? It's got quite a story in the Outside World, but I wonder just what you have it for, hm?"

"Y-you bastard...!" Remilia growled, and swung her free fist at him, intent on smashing his teeth into his skull. Artimus easily caught the blow in his other hand, still smiling happily, as if he were simply teasing Remilia in a friendly game.

"Don't get me wrong, I can tell you have great power within you," Artimus said as the furious vampire tried kicking his shins next. "It's just that you simply won't use it for greater purposes. Your dear sister would be far more willing to help out."

Hissing with utter fury, Remilia struggled even harder to break free of Artimus' impossibly strong grip.

"Also, I apologise for the following action, but I assume it's the quickest way to find her." Artimus said with an apologetic smile, and Remilia suddenly lost all the air in her lungs as a knee was driven into her stomach, just below her ribs.

Artimus let her drop to the ground, where she lost the grip on her spear and clutched her chest painfully, gasping for breathe.

Barely a moment later, Artimus' arm was wrapped around her neck, and Remilia was lifted from the ground, where she desperately clawed at his arm and choked for air, her pale face turning blue.

"Odd, I never expected the dead princess to need air," Artimus chuckled, and peered down the hallway. "Well? You could just tell me where Flandre is. I have no problem letting you live, you know."

Although she couldn't speak her words, Artimus understood what the lips were trying to form: _'Fuck you'_.

Suddenly, the torches that lit the basement hallway extinguished themselves simultaneously. Looking horrified, Remilia struggled to free herself and warn Flandre to run. Why was she coming back? She wasn't supposed to reveal herself to this man!

Artimus however, looked pleased. Loosening his death hold on Remilia, Artimus kept her firmly in his grip as he saw the glint of several jewels, apparently hanging from something attached to the figure with blood red eyes, colder than even Remilia's.

"Fl-Fla-dre..." Remilia coughed, trying to warn Flandre away from Artimus, but her words were either unheard or ignored, as Flandre simply kept walking closer and closer, a dark expression on her face.

"Ah, Flandre Scarlet, we meet at last!" Artimus greeted the pretty blonde vampire, who didn't reply. Instead, she cocked her head to the side curiously. "You may have heard of me by now, my name is-"

"The Bad Man, right?" Flandre asked, amusement evident in her light voice. Completely at ease in the presence of two hostile vampires, Artimus laughed.

"I suppose that's what I seem like, eh? But I assure you, what I'm doing benefits you as well."

Flandre giggled at the statement and walked closer, peering at Artimus closely. She licked her lips at the sight of all the blood seeping from the man's wounds, wondering how it would taste. Would it taste better if she ripped his throat out and simply gorged herself?

Remilia looked at her sister pleadingly, trying to form words, but her battle to regain the breathe necessary was proving difficult, and Flandre wasn't paying much attention to Remilia right now.

"It benefits me, huh?" Flandre said in wonder. "That sounds pretty nice, mister! Do I get to play outside? With people?"

"Oh yes!" Artimus nodded. "there are many people to play with, Flandre! In fact, if all went well, I think we could even visit the Outside World and play with the people there!"

Flandre's cold, scarlet eyes widened with glee. "Really! Oh my gosh, that's- that's so kind if you! Oh, how I wish I could accept!"

"And why can't you?" Artimus asked pleasantly.

"Well..." Flandre held her hand outward, palm pacing the ceiling. She peered at her hand intently, as if her reply was written on it. "First of all, you seem to have broken our home. I was told it's bad to break our home, so that's a bad point for you."

Artimus chuckled and replied, "Ah, well that can be repaired, if you like."

"Also, you have friends who are trying to break my friends," Flandre continued, her voice slightly colder and angrier now. "This little devil doesn't like it when her friends are broken. People can't fixed when they break, you know?"

"You want them to live?" Artimus shrugged. "Then they can live."

Her voice dropping in temperature even more, Flandre glanced up at Artimus, loathing now flickering to life in her eyes. "And as if those two bad points weren't enough, you hurt Remi. You hurt the one thing in this world that I won't tolerate to see in pain. That's a cajillion more bad points!" Flandre grinned maliciously. "Do you know why I'm such a naughty girl, mister?"

_Looks like thing'll be difficult after all..._ Artimus mentally sighed. "Please, enlighten me."

"Because sometimes, I go too far," Flandre whispered conspiratorially, a fanged grin forming on her face. "Sometimes, even when a simple 'sorry' is enough, I don't accept that. Sometimes, I want a higher price for retribution."

"Ah, you would like compensation for my admittedly rude arrival," Artimus nodded in understanding. "Very well, what is your price?" He asked, knowing the answer.

With a girlish giggle, Flandre winked at her worried elder sister, and said, "Your life, Bad Man!"

Flandre clenched her fist, and a small explosive sound was heard, rocking the mansion's foundations...

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the relatively shortish chapter, but I didn't want to lengthen it unnecessarily, especially with a resolution to any of the conflicts. Those will be in the next chapter or two, depending on how things pan out.<strong>

**Anyway, two things occurred to me this chapter:**

**1) I ended up pairing the stage 2 boss of the second game with the character that takes up the position in Tsukuribanashi. Seeing as I wanted these two to fight for a while, you'd think I'd recognise that conenction a lot sooner...**

**2) There is an unhealthy amount of strangling and choking in this chapter. I'll need to make sure to tone that down and find more inventive ways to restrain someone next time.**

**So anyway, things look pretty bad on the SDM front, and Tara may or may not have broke her brain blocking an attack. Are they okay? Will they survive this fic's unnecessary darkness? Find out whenever the next chapter decides to drop by!**


	11. Chapter 11 Shattered Sisters

Anya was trying to ease her mind with reading. The only reading material she had was her tome, filled with all the stories she'd written over the years. Seeing as she had authored and re-read this book many times, it was mind-numbing for her, but it least she wasn't constantly worrying about Tara. At the very least, she could take pride in her improvement. Her first story's were, honestly, god-awful. Nothing but a cluster of mistakes, wish-fulfilment and nonsensical story lines that simply never went any where.

It was these terrible stories that Anya focused on, seeing as that was where her Lyra-related writings were located. As time went on, Anya developed new characters with varying qualities to expand her power's influence, but her first stories all seemed to revolve around the Daidouji's antics and misadventures..

Lyra was the nice, but stern and strict 'mother' of one particular story. Her very first one, in fact, when Anya first realised her power. She smiled slightly at the memory of Lyra falling asleep after a few lines, and Anya had been so upset, thinking Lyra hated the story...

"Here." Anya jumped at the voice, and quickly snapped her book shut as she glanced at the speaker. It was Alice, holding out a cup of warm tea.

"Oh, thanks..." Anya took the cup and placed it by her side. Alice gazed analytically at the girl, wondering if she was all right. She looked like things were weighing heavily upon her mind. Which was perfectly understandable.

"That's an interesting book," Alice commented, nodding at the tome. "Doesn't look like your typical story book, either."

Anya glanced shyly at her book. "Oh, uh... it's not... it's mine."

"Oh, you write?"

"No. Well, yeah... but it's like, uh..."

Alice smiled gently at the nervous girl. "Not a confident writer? You shouldn't worry, I doubt you're that bad."

Anya merely mumbled something unintelligible, and sipped her drink, eye gazing downwards.

Alice planted herself by the girl's side, who glanced at her uneasily. She had a feeling about what the doll girl was going to ask...

"If you don't mind, may I look over it?" Alice asked, keeping her gaze on Shujiko and Rena, who were busy conversing over something that had Rena looking apologetic. "I need something to keep me from going insane with boredom."

"Oh, uh... no." Anya muttered, and Alice gave her a sideways glance. Anya nearly cringed, despite there being no malice in Alice's eyes.

"That's a shame." Alice sighed eventually, looking upwards, where Shangai was interacting with two of the Daidouji's fairies. It looked like Shangai was bugging the hell out of them too, funnily enough.

Not wanting to come across as rude, Anya told the doll-master, "I - my stories suck anyway, so I don't really need to be told that... and..."

"They suck? Hey, I know Marisa wouldn't stop laughing at what she saw in there, but would you really consider her opinion 'informed'?" Reimu asked as she passed the two, a broom in hand. It looked like she was going to busy herself mindlessly sweeping the leafless patio.

Alice smirked slightly at that. "I have to agree with her. Marisa may read a lot, but her ideas of compelling characters are people with no motivation, fire power, and reckless abandon."

"Anya, just let her see it, already!" Rena called over, taking notice of the conversation. "Just show her the back of the book if you're that self-conscious!"

Anya's face was glowing now, not liking the pressure she felt was forced upon her. Even amongst her family, Anya never let them read beyond certain points. Especially Tara. Who knew what she would think if she came across that story...

"Uh..." Anya flipped to one of the last pages of her tome, her mind failing to accurately pin point a suitable story, eventually choosing one at random and nervously handing the book to Alice, who smiled gently as she took it.

"'The Triangle of Pain'," Alice read aloud, and Anya made desperate hushing gestures.

"Please, don't read it out loud!" Anya begged, glancing around the shrine, where everyone had apparently taken an interest in her.

Alice glanced at the onlookers as well, and rose to her feet, indicating that Anya should follow suit.

"Let's read and review in private, then." Alice invited, leading her into Reimu's vacant room.

Genji watched the girls leave, a thoughtful expression on his face. When the door was closed, he said, "It's odd. When I first saw that girl, she acted like she was some sort of all-powerful deity. Now she can barely speak a straight sentence."

"That's Anya for ya." Rena sighed, a faint smile on her face. "If she feels in control, she damn well acts in control. Otherwise, she's either quiet or demonstrating the ultimate meekness."

* * *

><p>Feeling the power of her attack rush towards her target, Meira was compelled to laugh maniacally. It was nothing like the strength she had before! Those black spellcards... they were magnicifent. Surely, they were more than enough to rival Hakurei!<p>

When the lights faded, Meira inspected the damage. She frowned in confusion when she saw that her opponent was still alive, albeit struggling to stand upright. She was clutching at her forehead, grimacing in pain, while the witch and scythe-wielding girl were fussing over her well being.

"I didn't think you would be able to survive that," Meira noted, sheathing her blade. "Did you block it?"

"Yep," Tara replied, and Meira was irked to see that she started grinning, despite her pain. "It was a simple matter too. You aren't nearly as strong as you think you are."

Meira glared coldly at her fellow swordswoman, resisting the mounting urge to cut her to ribbons. "Is that so? You don't look too good after clashing with my might. Perhaps you should re-evaluate your observation?"

Tara lowered her hand, maintaining her almost condescending smirk. "That shouldn't be necessary. All I have to worry about is that weird spellcard you used. And I get the feeling that isn't even yours."

"...What are you implying?" Meira asked, a dangerous edge to her voice.

"Nothing. I'm outright saying it," Tara replied, "You're only hope of beating me depends upon a power source that doesn't belong to you."

Feeling her rage growing rapidly, Meira snarled and swung her blade, quickly unsheathing it and sending lightning fast bullets at that infuriating woman. She was surprised to see the bullets seemingly bounce of nothing and drop to the ground, where they disappeared.

"Tara, you okay?" Marisa asked with thinly veiled concern. "I thought the laser show would've addled your head, ze!"

"Eh, it doesn't even sting." Tara shrugged, although truthfully, a headache remained. Thankfully, Meira's Iai-launched bullets were too weak to even register in her mind, so blocking those weren't a problem. But if she had any more of those high-powered attacks in reserve...

Elly stepped forward, scythe at the ready. "C'mon, let's just beat her up now! We can't waste any time on some idiot!"

"What was that?" Meira growled.

"I'll defeat her in one strike," Tara promised, sheathing her own blade. "In the meantime, please stay back."

Elly gave Tara an uneasy glance, before reluctantly stepping aside. Marisa opened her mouth to protest, but Tara seemed to have foreseen her protestations, as she said, "Please, just leave it to me. There's no need to waste your time with the likes of her."

With an angered cry, Meira pulled another spellcard from her pocket, giving it a quick glance before glaring hatefully at the group.

"I have had it with your insults! I'll show you that my strength is far beyond yours!" the mad swordsman roared.

The dark spellcard began to glow ominously as it dissipated, and Tara stepped forward, her sword still sheathed.

"Hey! She's gonna pull something big! Stop her!" Marisa yelled. Seeing that Tara was in no hurry to prevent the attack, Marisa gave an exasperated growl an tried to rush forward, only to find herself repelled.

"The hell...? Hey! You're supposed to use a barrier against _her_!" Marisa yelled. Elly raised her hand and tried to push forward, finding her movements restricted as well.

_What is she playing at? Why doesn't she want our help? _Elly wondered, biting her lip thoughtfully. Glancing at the frustrated witch, Elly said, "Hey, you might as well shut up. She's not listening."

Marisa did shut up, but she still kept up her attempts to find a way past the barrier without breaking it (and potentially Tara's mind) down.

"I''ll kill you, those friends of yours, and then I'll slaughter Hakurei!" Meira growled, her eyes displaying the madness that was engulfing her. A sadistic grin spread across her face. "And maybe I'll kill whoever else is there too. Any supporters of that little freak!"

Tara glared coldly at Meira as she stepped forward. When she spoke, the air seemed to freeze with the cold, venomous tone she used.

"It's bad enough that you wish to kill Reimu over what I assume is a laughably trivial matter," Tara said, noting how angered it made Meira. "But, to kill her 'supporters?' One; you mean 'friends', and two..."

"Blah blah blah," Meira interrupted with forced calm. "Let's skip straight to the bloodshed!"

Meira sword began to glow a dark, violet/black colour, and seemed to slowly expand in length, until it was towering above Meira at twelve feet.

Keeping the blade pointed to the sky, Meira spoke, "I'll show you my true power! Blade of Ragnarok!"

Swinging her empowered sword, Tara watched the dark blade fall upon her. A second before impact, it struck Tara's barrier, and another wave of pain washed over her mind, almost causing Tara to collapse to her knees when she cried out. Those spellcards Meira was using were incredibly powerful, but Tara refused to falter. How could she ever defend her loved ones if this was all it took to defeat her, after all?

Staggering forward, Tara advanced slowly towards Meira, who watched with surprise painting her features as she struggled against the barrier. The Ragnarok spell was slowly shrinking in length, and the darkness that engulfed the blade was slowly fading. If she couldn't pierce that barrier in time...

Marisa noted that the barrier keeping her from advancing was weakening, and cursed loudly at Tara, continuing with, "Stop the bull crap and let me smash her face in! Why do you wanna die so badly?"

Tara smirked slightly at that, ignoring the waves of pain in her head as she slowly reached for her sword. No, she didn't want to die, and Tara knew she wouldn't die here. Even if this power her opponent wielded was granted by that Artimus person, at the end of the day Meira was incapable of fully utilising these spells. She could sense the killing potential of the attacks, but the power behind them was sorely lacking.

"As I was saying before..." Tara growled, while Meira seemed to be frozen now, wondering if Tara was some sort of monstrously powerful creature, as opposed to an insolent youkai. "Two; any kind of threat directed at my Mistress, or Anya, or anyone welcomed in our household..."

Tara drew her sword, keeping the blade at her side and pointed away from Meira, her pain-filled eyes glowing with disdain and pity.

"I will show no mercy in your punishment. Zanmato!"

Tara suddenly lunged forward, reaching Meira before she could shake of her stupor and defend with her mostly de-powered blade.

Tara seemed to rush straight past Meira, twirling her body to strike with her sword as she did. At first, Marisa and Elly thought she had cut through Meira, but they saw no wounds.

Sheathing her blade for the last time, Tara muttered, "Devil's Sword Swing."

As if responding to her words, Meira suddenly felt a surge of power flow through her body, filling her entire being with a sense of absolute power and tranquillity.

_What... is this? _Meira wondered, feeling as if her mind were cleared, her thoughts no longer tainted by whisperings of 'power' and 'vengeance'. _Did she strengthen me?_

And as soon as that thought crossed her mind, Meira's chest felt constricted, and she wheezed painfully as that feeling of power seemed to seep away.

Confused and frightened, Meira fell to her knees, no strength left in her legs to support her. Finally feeling the barrier give way, Marisa rushed forward, with Elly close behind.

"Tara! What'd you do?" Marisa asked, watching as Meira panted and gasped, as if struggling for air. Her consciousness was also fading quickly, her struggles slowing and weakening.

"She'll live," Tara sighed, falling to a sitting position as she massaged her temples. "I simply cut her access to any kind of magic energy. She won't even be able to fire Danmaku Bullets."

Marisa blinked in awe at that. "Wait... you can... cut magic?"

"I guess..." Tara mumbled.

Looking at Meira again, who seemed to be winning the struggle to breathe properly, Marisa said, "Wow... so, any reason why you never used it against us way back when?"

When the throbbing in Tara's head calmed ever so slightly, the barrier maiden replied, "I'm not exactly sure... I don't like using it, since there's no guarantee you can recover your connection to magic, and there are several life forms that depend upon that connection. I assume your master did, too."

"Probably..." Marisa replied.

"And yet, even though I was defending my mistress, it never even crossed my mind to use it," Tara sighed. "Well, I'm glad I didn't, at any rate."

Noticing that Meira finally fainted, Marisa waited a moment before asking, "Okay... then, the more important question: What the _hell_ are you playing at, ze?"

Tara winced at the outburst, while Elly replied, "Shouldn't you ask the more important question first?" While stooping down to search Meira.

Ignoring the gate keeper, Marisa continued, "There's three of us and one of her! Why not just team up and beat her before she can actually hurt one of us? What if she broke your brain, smashing your shields like that!"

"You worry too much..." Tara sighed. "She was nowhere near strong enough to win."

"You were struggling, and you know it!" Marisa pressed, crouching next to Tara to roughly poke her chest. "Spill it! What's up with you?"

Batting Marisa's hand away, Tara turned her gaze away from the witch. "... I need to prove myself."

"What?"

"Lyra's gone," Tara said, her voice bitter. "I'm the only one left to look after the others. But how can I if I'm weak?"

Blinking in surprise, Marisa said uncertainly, "Uh, I never said that you're weak-"

"I couldn't stop you from entering the mansion, could I?" Tara interrupted.

"You were up against Miss Mima, ze! Stopping her is like stalling a god; you just can't do it!" Marisa protested.

"Regardless, there's still many people out there that are far stronger than me," Tara sighed. "I need to get stronger as soon as possible. Even if it means fighting Artimus' friends by myself."

Marisa gazed at Tara, shocked. She never expected Tara to act like that! The way the barrier maiden was going, she may as well kill herself, because picking a fight with anyone related to Artimus was bound to end badly at some point.

However, before Marisa could argue further, a voice from above called, "Halt and cease all actions, potential perps!"

With the voice being vaguely familiar, Marisa, Tara and Elly glanced upwards to see a woman wearing thick, flowing, purple robes decorated with red floral markings descend from the sky, a whistle strung from her neck, and long, scarlet hair, tied into a ponytail with a yellow bow, and wearing a weird, blue hat with a black bill and silver crest upon the front.

With a sweeping gaze, the girl took in the scene: A blonde girl talking to a jewel-headed woman, with another blonde girl apparently checking out an unconscious red-head.

"Uh, who the hell are you again?" Marisa asked the newcomer.

Smiling brightly, the girl introduced herself. "Don't you know? I am Princess-Constable Kotohime! Gensokyo's finest and only police force!"

Tara and Elly stared quizzically at the girl, while Marisa merely sighed. "Oh. Right. The loony."

"Loony? Who's the loony?" Kotohime asked indignantly, and pointed at Meira. "You're the guys who beat her up, right? That's barbaric, and a crime!"

"Uh... she's the bad guy," Marisa pointed out, resisting the urge to whack the girl with her broom. "She was throwing bullets and stuff all over the place, and we stopped her."

Kotohime glanced at Meira thoughtfully, her eyes darting back to Marisa. "Is that so? Do you have proof? Witnesses?"

Tara raised her hand, looking rather bemused. "Um... I'm a witness? And Elly too."

"All right, but the proof? Can you prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are all, in fact, telling the truth?" Kotohime enquired.

"... Just trust us, ze," Marisa growled. "Come on, you know I don't go around attacking people."

Kotohime raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh yeah? I seem to recall you attacking a rather large number of people about two years ago. You even turned your magic against me!"

"Because we were fighting over who got to see the space ship!" Marisa said in exasperation. "You didn't have a problem then, ze!"

As the witch and 'princess-constable' continued to bicker, Elly sidled up to Tara, asking quietly, "Hey, you're feeling okay right? You seemed to be in pain there."

"Just a headache, it'll pass," Tara replied. "Although, I kinda hope she goes away soon. I wanna go back to the shrine and sleep..."

Elly nodded as she watched the two girls argue. Marisa was certainly frustrated, while the police person was rather adamantly accusing Marisa of dark and evil intentions.

Finally, Marisa yelled, "You know what? Screw it, I don't care! Think what you want, I'm gonna go solve this whole damn mess, ze!"

Marisa marched away from Kotohime, who demanded that she return. When that order was ignored, Kotohime produced a spellcard, and Tara climbed to her feet, wincing at the pain in her head.

"Um, Miss... princess-constable," She spoke politely. "Please excuse my rude companion. She is shaken by the attack."

"Traitor..." Marisa muttered.

"I can assure you that we were acting in defence of the village," Tara continued, ignoring Marisa's comment. "That woman there was influenced by evil, although I suspect she should return to her normal state of mind."

Kotohime gave Tara a thoughtful look, staring into the woman's eyes. After several moments of unblinking eye contact, the princess-constable smiled brightly, cheerfully saying, "Okay! I'll bring this person in for questioning!"

Turning to the unconscious Meira, Kotohime held her spell card to the prone figure, muttering, "Winding-binding shackle wackles!"

Two silver chains snaked their way from the spell card, glowing a dull silver. One chain snaked around Meira's wrists, bringing them together before binding. The second did the same with her ankles.

"Is that really necessary?" Tara asked nervously.

"Standard procedure, ma'am," Kotohime responded cheerfully, effortlessly hoisting Meira over her shoulder. "Hey, you mind holding onto her sword for me? I don't have a place to put it, and you'd probably like it! Bye now!"

Without waiting for a response, Kotohime ascended and rushed off, perhaps to a neighbouring village or wherever the hell that person lived.

Tara glanced at the sword left lying where Meira once was. She certainly didn't want another sword, but there was no sense in leaving it where anyone could take it. Besides, it couldn't hurt to have a spare weapon...

Picking up the blade and its sheathe, she turned to Elly and Marisa, her eyes half lidded in an attempt to quell the pain in her head. "Okay, now what?"

"Well..." Elly produced a small, rectangular box from the neck of her dress. "I found this on her. I can sense..." The gate keeper's expression darkened slightly. "Him."

Marisa peered at the box with a frown, scratching at her chin thoughtfully. "Well, what do we wanna do? Destroy what's inside?"

"And hope it doesn't blow the whole area up?" Tara responded.

"Why not study the cards?" Elly suggested. "It'll give us a bigger idea of how his magic works."

Marisa nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's an option... And I think I know someone who could figure this stuff out pretty quickly, ze!"

Elly and Tara gave Marisa a quizzical look, who dramatically pointed in the direction of the forest. "To the Scarlet Devil Mansion we go!"

* * *

><p>At said mansion, things were going pretty badly.<p>

Meiling, having been tricked into potentially killing Patchouli, was unleashing her full, unbridled fury at the one at fault. Mion was being relentlessly bombarded by danmaku, and while dying wasn't a possibility, the pain was intense and never-ending. She cried out as bullet after bullet struck her defenceless body, with Meiling stepping closer and closer, her eyes glowing with rage and grief.

In her state of mind, Meiling didn't see Kat's return until she had a second to react. Halting her assault, Meiling brought her left arm around to swat Kat away, only to have the feral creature latch her teeth unto her arm.

Growling in pain, Meiling simply aimed a bone-breaking punch at Kat's face, who quickly let go positioned herself between Meiling and Mion, the gate keeper's blood coating Kat's teeth.

"Can't harm Mion!" Kat snarled. "Won't allow!"

"Is that so?" Meiling asked monotonously, stepping towards the wild creature, paying no attention to her wounded arm. "Well, I intend to harm her. I intend to utterly break that monster. Try and stop me, but you'll only suffer and beg for release."

Kat merely grinned at the threat. "Dangerous! Ideal opponent!"

At that moment, the two lunged for each other. Kat aimed a scratch at Meiling's face, who threw a powerful punch at her ribs. Both attacks collided, although Kat seemed far worse off. While Meiling had several scratches across her face, Kat was thrown backwards, a few bones broken. Despite this, she stood tall, grinning maniacally.

Mion, groaning and stiffly moving, got to her knees as she watched Kat fight. Her gaze turned to Meiling, who was exuding a threatening aura. Well, if she was driven to madness and grief, that should make her slightly easier to defeat, but Mion had no real options besides illusions right now, and she wasn't too confident of her ability to maintain one right now. It was incredibly draining, fooling that stupid gate keeper into smashing her own friend to near-death, and the storm of bullets from a moment ago hadn't left her in the greatest of shape. It was ironic how Yuuka Kazami was the easier fight, despite how clearly superior that woman was.

Meiling and Kat clashed once again. This time, Kat dodged Meiling's punch, and opted for headbutting the gate keeper's chin. Meiling threw her head back, but not much else. She lowered her gaze to Kat, suddenly gripping her in what looked like an embrace.

Surprised, Kat tried to wriggle free, but Meiling began to squeeze the monster, crushing her body slowly.

"Hey!" Mion yelled angrily, struggling to her feet. "Get off of my Kathy, you traitorous bitch!"

Meiling seemed to freeze, and flicked her gaze to Mion. "...'Traitorous', you said?"

"... Uh, yeah!" Mion replied, bracing herself for another ass-kicking.

Anger re-ignited in Meiling's eyes as the casually tossed Kat to the ground, where she gasped for breathe. Stomping towards the ribbon-clad girl, Meiling growled, "It's all because of you that Patchy's dying! How dare you call me that!"

"Maybe if you weren't the dumbest creature alive, you could have seen through such a basic illusion!" Mion goaded, and fresh fury erupted from Meiling as she roared and dashed forward, winding her arm back for an attack. The series of explosive sounds that arrived at that moment momentarily distracted Meiling, which was enough time for a recovered Kat to leap onto her back and lock her arm around the gate keeper's neck, growling furiously.

_Artimus, hurry the fuck up! I can't keep up with her! _Mion mentally pleaded.

* * *

><p>Eyes wide with shock and confusion, Flandre stared at the still living Artimus, who had taken no damage whatsoever. Remilia wore a horrified expression, unable to understand why Flandre hadn't reduced him to atoms.<p>

With her still-clenched fist shaking, Flandre snarled, "How? Why didn't you die?"

Artimus merely laughed playfully, gently moving Remilia out of the way as he advanced towards the blonde vampire.

Still staggering from the earlier hit, Remilia stumbled after Artimus, intent on stopping him by any means necessary. Almost dismissively, Artimus gave her another shove that sent her sprawling, his attention focused solely on the younger Scarlet sister.

Flandre shook her head furiously and peered. She could see it, the point of destruction his 'eye'... Flandre knew she had targeted it! Why didn't he blow up?

Flandre clenched her fist again, as if crushing the point, and another explosive sound resounded. And yet, Artimus was still unharmed.

"Come now, Flandre, that trick won't magically work if it failed the first time!" Artimus said lightly.

Flandre glared wildly at Artimus, trying to figure out what was wrong. Everything could be destroyed! Nothing was indestructible! Flandre Scarlet could reduce the world to space dust if she so wished, so why couldn't Artimus simply blow up?

"It doesn't take a genius to know what you're thinking," Artimus commented as he stepped closer. Flandre was forced to back away to maintain distance. "Since we'll be working together, I guess I can enlighten you about my kind."

Artimus came to a halt when something struck his back. With a casual glance, he saw Remilia's outstretched hand. She had launched danmaku in a desperate attempt to slow him down.

Remilia's gaze, however, wasn't on Artimus himself, but just beyond him, at Flandre. Remilia gave the smallest of nods, and when Artimus turned his gaze back at his target, was met with a storm of Flandre's danmaku.

Lazily protecting his face with one hand, Artimus did little else to defend. This worried Remilia, recalling how he easily countered her attack moments ago, and since Flandre couldn't destroy him...

Still, she wasn't about to give up. If Flandre's method didn't work, then Remilia would settle with brutalising the opponent until he was no longer recognisable.

With her strength returning, Remilia's spear seemed to warp back into her hands, and proceeded to rapidly thrust it into Artimus' back.

Artimus seemed to sense the attacks coming, as he quickly turned and began to evade the blows, practically ignoring the bullets hammering from behind. Remilia's frustration was evident, but she didn't falter in her attack.

"Now, Flan!"

The bullets stopped, although Remilia continued her attack, keeping Artimus busy with swift thrusts, wary of any sudden movements or counters.

"I admire that resolve of yours, Scarlet Devil," Artimus said conversationally. "Even knowing the futility, you continue to fight for your little sister."

"There's nothing futile about killing you!" Remilia retorted, and hopped back. A second later, a large fireball struck Artimus, engulfing him in flames.

Flandre, holding a slightly wonky-looking wand with a sharp, red tip, was smiling widely, watching the burning body of Artimus with glee. The wand began to glow brightly, and with a graceful swing, another fire ball struck Artimus, who collapsed to the ground silently.

The two sisters glanced at each other, blood lust evident in each of their eyes. As if knowing what the other was thinking, they each pierced their free hand with the tip of their respective weapons. The blood flowed from their palms and fell to the ground in slow, steady drips.

"Double Scarlet..." Remilai whispered, clenching her wounded hand.

"Rondo of Blood!" Flandre said in a cheery, sing-song voice, swinging her own injured hand towards Artimus. Remilia did the same, and a trail of blood seemed to fly from their hands, arcing unnaturally and striking Artimus like a whip. The blood continued to strike at his body as the flames quickly died down. Remilia quickly glided to Flandre's side, keeping a wary distance above Artimus as she passed. Even after all that, the vampire wasn't taking chances.

When the two sisters were together, they silently clasped their bleeding hands together, letting the blood mix. After a few seconds, they disengaged, pointing their palms at Artimus' remains.

"Scarlet Finish..." Remilia muttered.

"Sacred Blood Bath!" Flandre whooped, and a large, danmaku-like energy formed in each of their hands, growing rapidly larger. When the sphere's were roughly the size of their heads, both sisters fired. The bullets, upon striking Artimus, seemed to explode in a mess of blood, blowing Artimus back towards Flandre's room.

Remilia sighed and dropped her arm, resisting the urge to fall to the floor. That technique had been quite draining. Flandre was breathing slightly heavier than usual, but was in much better shape.

"We... we killed the Bad Man, right?" Flandre asked.

"We better have..." Remilia growled. "I don't how he stopped your power, but I guess brute force was enough."

A groaning sound came from Flandre's room, and both sisters froze, hoping that they both imagined it.

"Ugh... That's the last time I take a hit..." Artimus grumbled, slowly rising to his feet. He was a mess, with his clothing once again tattered, and his skin had boiled somewhat from the heat of the spells.

Remilia shook her head disbelievingly, unable to comprehend how he could have survived. No, she could maybe accept living through that assault. The real mystery was how he was already back on his feet. No one could recover that quick!

"Let's see... yep, it's still there." Artimus muttered, searching for something that he was probably carrying. Whatever it was, he still had it, and Remilia knew that whatever it was, she had to stop him, now.

"Flan, run." Remilia ordered, stepping forward with Gungnir in hand.

"Eh? No way! I wanna kill the Bad Man!" Flandre protested.

"You can't! Leave, before he hurts you!"

"Now now, I don't have any intentions of harming your sister!" Artimus said, sounding somewhat insulted at the accusation.

Stepping protectively in front of her sister, Remilia glared at the injured-yet-completely-fine monster before her. "How in the name of Tepes did you survive that?" What the hell are you?"

Artimus rubbed his burned chin thoughtfully, as if searching for the best explanation. "Hm... You're aware of the youkai 'hierarchy', right?"

"I am. What's your point?" Remilia said, while nudging Flandre with one of her wings, trying to tell her to leave. Flandre however, didn't seem to take the hint. She too, wanted to know why her absolute destruction was completely ineffective.

"Well, I was once 'top tier', as some say," Artimus continued, a reminiscent smile on his face. "Great power, an expansive reputation in the outside world... In fact, I believe I'm the source for that 'Spring-heeled Jack' fellow, but anyway..."

"Run, you idiot..." Remilia whispered, almost inaudibly, but Flandre still refused to budge.

Looking somewhat confused, Fladre asked, "But why can't you die? Are you a cheater?"

Artimus chuckled softly at that, before coughing. Patting his chest, he continued, "Right, well... the short version is: I evolved."

Seeing the confused look on both Scarlet's faces, he smiled a little wider at that. "I know, I was shocked at first, as well. I didn't think it was possible, short of attaining god-hood. But that's what happened. I've gained something akin to immortality. No... perhaps 'invulnerability' is the better term..."

Artimus glanced at Flandre, and pointed at the spot where his 'eye' would be. "However, I'm still not immune to your strength, Flandre. Which is why I utilised my own abilities," Artimus chuckled. "You know, 'chaos' is such a broad term. There so many examples of 'chaotic' nature that you could point to a simple mishap and declare how chatoic the natural flow of things has become."

"You're rambling," Remilia growled. "Get to the fucking point!"

"Language, young lady!" Artimus scolded lightly, "Well, if you want me to skip to the end..."

Artimus adopted a chilling sneer, made all the more sinister by his damaged features. With a low, arrogant sounding voice he said, "Flandre, since when where you under the impression that this was my true 'eye'?"

After the sisters stared blankly at Artimus for several seconds, he chuckled once again, all traces of menace erased in an instant. "Sorry, I've always wanted to use that line."

"I don't get it." Flandre stated, but Remilia had tensed, staring at Artimus with renewed horror.

"You... moved your 'eye'?" Remilia asked.

With a shake of his head, Artimus replied, "No no, weren't you listening? Chaos can define almost anything. For example, how organised would you be if your senses couldn't be trusted?"

My senses...? Remilia thought for a second, and came to an unsettling conclusion. "You're... an illusionist?"

"Almost!" Artimus said cheerfully. "I can be pretty much anything, really. Anything that can be defined as 'chaotic' falls under my jurisdiction, more or less."

"I see... 'Chaos Incarnate', are you?" Remilia said, forcing a leering smile on her face. "Well, it won't do you much good when I erase you utterly."

Artimus raised an eyebrow at that remark. "Oh? Didn't we just spend way too much time talking about how hopeless that is? Besides..."

Remilia blinked, and Artimus was gone. A sudden, immense pain erupted from the back of her head, and Flandre's screaming could be heard from a long distance. Had Flandre decided to flee?

_Get out of here. Don't let him catch you! _Remilia mentally ordered, her consciousness fading.

Artimus, who had seemingly warped behind the sisters, produced a black-coloured charm from within his ruined clothes. Before Flandre could feel around and bury Laevatein in his skull, Artimus had slapped the charm onto her neck.

Flandre froze up immediately, eyes wide and surprised. The charm began to crackle with blood red light, the charm seemingly sinking into her flesh. Flandre felt no pain, although her mind felt numb. Empty. Faces in her memories began to fade, becoming nothing more than blank faces with a name. A label.

"Sorry for that, Flandre, but I would rather have you on my side." Artimus said apologetically. He meant it too. Even though he could defend himself against Flandre's destructive power, she was still a powerful magic-wielder. Coupled with Remilia's formidable assault, Artimus had, for a brief moment, thought he was in trouble. It looked like there were more than two people to consider a threat, no matter how minor. Then again, those two were currently incapacitated in some form.

"Flandre? How are you, my dear?" Artimus asked the younger vampire, who slowly turned to face him with blank, emotionless eyes.

"I am battle ready, Artimus," Flandre replied. "What is your bidding?"

"Well, looks like it works fine," Artimus nodded approvingly. "Well, we might as well go. Mion and Kat'll be waiting."

The two walked through the basement, heading for the upper floors. After a few moments, Artimus asked, "Oh, by the way, can you last long under the sun?"

"Unknown. I have yet to venture out during daylight hours," Flandre replied automatically. "I can borrow Remilia Scarlet's umbrella to move during daylight hours."

"Good... We'll find some shade soon enough..." Artimus muttered. "And I'm going to need to rest. That was more draining than I thought!"

* * *

><p><em>Son of a bitch...<em> Sakuya cursed, panting heavily. Her shadow was proving to be quite the formidable opponent. Something that Sakuya would take some pride in, if it weren't for the fact that her mistresses could be in grave danger right now, and that damn shadow was hindering her!

The maid had sustained a few cuts to her face and arms, while her uniform was slightly frayed from a few close cuts, but she was still more or less fine. As for the shadow, it was impossible to say. It appeared to be panting as well, but there were no visible wounds from Sakuya's attacks, and the thing had no breathe to speak of.

The shadow lunged forward, a knife-shaped shadow in each hand. Sakuya stood her ground, met the attack and parried it with her own knives. That was another puzzling aspect. Why did this shadow have such a physical form? Every other sign pointed to it being nothing more than what it was: a shadow. How it was capable of physical interaction, never mind fighting, was just incomprehensible.

Sakuya quickly lunged forward with her own blades. Her shadow backed away swiftly, although the tips of Sakuya's knives managed to pierce the body. Not that it seemed to deter the maid's shadow from continuing the battle.

Do you even have a purpose?" Sakuya asked, leaping forward and swiping precisely with her weapons. "Do you have a reason to exist, huh? Can you really defy me?"

_I better end this before I go insane..._ Sakuya thought grimly.

"So sorry about borrowing your shadow's allegiance. You can have it back now." An amused voice came from the door leading to the basement. Sakuya's blood froze over as she glanced to her side, seeing a disfigured Artimus standing there with...

"Flandre! Get away from him!" Sakuya screamed. Flandre didn't move, only staring blankly at the maid. "Flandre...?"

"Will I eliminate her?" Flandre asked monotonously, and Sakuya stared in horror. What had happened? Was Flandre being controlled?

Feeling fury growing within her, Sakuya lunged for Artimus, throwing one of her knives at him in order to free her hand. She grabbed for her Luna Dial, to stop the passage of time.

Sakuya's shadow made no move to intercept. Sakuya herself had apparently forgotten it was even an issue. There was a far bigger problem than a renegade shade, and Sakuya had to resolve it as quickly as possible.

The knife that Sakuya threw was deflected when Flandre extended her unusual, wire framed wing, the blade bouncing harmlessly from one of the crystals that hung from her frame. Sakuya flipped her watch open, but before she could apply the watch's effect, Artimus had moved, gripping her wrist tightly. When had he...?

"I am sorry to say this, but we have won," Artimus told her. "Your mistress is incapacitated, young Flandre has joined our cause, you cannot defeat me, and..."

Artimus glanced towards the mansion's entrance. "I would bet any amount of money Mion has the upper hand as well."

Sakuya merely headbutted Artimus' chin, but that did nothing beyond hurt her skull. Grimacing with the pain, Sakuya used her free hand to plunge a knife into Artimus' arm, which also did nothing to loosen his grip.

"Will I destroy her?" Flandre asked.

"Well, if she tries to take you by force, you might as well," Artimus shrugged. "No need to exert yourself."

Casually, Artimus lifted Sakuya from the ground and flung her across the foyer, crashing the maid into a far wall, where she struggled to move.

"Let's go." Artimus and Flandre headed for the front doors, while Sakuya slowly rose to her shaking feet, barely able to stand, let alone pursue.

_Flandre... Flandre! Please, come back..._

By the entrance was a tall, vase-like container that held many different umbrella's that Remilia no doubt used for day time excursions. Artimus plucked one out at random and handed it to Flandre, who opened the umbrella as they stepped outside.

With a quick glance at the ongoing battle, Artimus said, "Oh. Oh my."

Things were a mess outside. He could see that the Mansion's librarian was critically injured, fighting an up hill battle with death itself. The gate keeper was fighting both Mion and Kat. Mion herself looked tired and ragged. It seemed like she got an unfavourable match up.

"Well, good thing I arrived when I did, eh?" Artimus chuckled. Flandre said nothing, merely analysing the battle, while carefully blocking the sun's rays with the umbrella.

As if sensing his approach, Meiling, Kat and Mion all glanced in his direction.

"Fucking _finally_!" Mion yelled, "End this bitch, already! I need to talk to you!"

"Language, young lady!" Artimus chastised playfully. Meiling stared, wide-eyed as Flandre followed Artimus, unable to understand why she was there. Wasn't she supposed to be hiding?

Ignoring Kat and Mion for now, Meiling turned to face the oncoming vampire. "Flandre? Get away from him! What are you doing?"

Flandre merely gazed lifelessly at Meiling for a moment, then at Mion and Kat. "Those are your supporters?"

"Yep."

"I don't feel a lot of power from them." Flandre observed flatly.

"What? Come over here and say that!" Mion roared, while Kat growled menacingly. Artimus sighed, wondering if there were going to be a lot of arguments over blunt honesty in the near future. Not that he minded, but if they got in the way in battle...

"Miss Meiling, was it?" Artimus addressed the confused gate keeper. "I'd advise against fighting. You're injured, you're friend is dying, and your maid and mistress aren't in the best of shape. Might as well count your losses."

Meiling blinked slowly at Artimus words, feeling rage engulf her mind once again. That bastard hurt Sakuya? Hurt lady Remilia? and he was kidnapping Flandre on top of that? No, she wouldn't allow it. It was her duty to protect everyone in the mansion, and she wasn't going to fuck up any more than she had already!

"Give her back!" Meiling roared, charging forward. Kat howled and made to pursue, but Artimus waved at her, indicating she should stay put. at the same time, Artimus placed his other hand on Flandre's shoulder to indicate her assistance was also unnecessary.

When Meiling was close enough, she aimed a punch for his face, which Artimus easily caught with his own fist. Momentarily surprised, Meiling tried to kick his ribs, but Artimus didn't seem to react to the blow.

"Like I said..." Artimus muttered, quickly striking Meiling's elbow, an audible crack rending the air, as well as Meiling's yelp of pain. "It's useless."

Artimus flicked the gate keeper's forehead, which sent her tumbling away, where she lay shuddering and gasping for breathe.

"And that, ladies, is a successful mission!" Artimus announced cheerfully, heading for the gates.

"Successful?_ Successful_? I got the shit smashed out of me just so you could get a pet vampire!" Mion argued venomously. "She better be worth the trouble, because if not..."

"I am not a 'pet'." Flandre corrected automatically. "I am merely a tool to be used however Artimus sees fit."

Mion stared silently at Flandre for a few seconds, before turning to Kat and saying, "I think we should keep an eye on him, yeah? There's somethign sinister going on there."

Kat nodded vigorously, while Artimus merely chuckled.

"Oh, by the way, what in the name of hell happened to you? Did the vampires seriously give you trouble?" Mion asked, as if recalling a minor detail that she might as well hear an explanation for.

Another chuckle, and Artimus replied, "Ah, well... remind me not to deliberately take so many hits in he future. I'd forgotten that fairly strong opponents exist."

Meanwhile, Meiling struggled to her feet, ready to pursue the retreating enemies and rescue Flandre no matter what, but she was faced with a dilemma. How could she rescue Flandre if that guy had so easily defeated her? And there was Patchouli to save as well. She could be mere seconds from death...

It took a second for Meiling to reach a decision, although she felt horrible about it, even if it was the only viable option.

"I hope you can forgive me, Lady Remilia, Lady Flandre." Meiling muttered, staggering to Patchouli's side. The librarian was still choking for air, and didn't seem fully aware of her surroundings. Carefully scooping her up with her uninjured arm, Meiling marched inside, hoping that things hadn't been thoroughly blown to hell inside.


	12. Chapter 12  She Breathes Again

"So, to summarise: Artimus decimated us, and walked Flandre right through the front door." Sakuya told a horrified Marisa, Elly and Tara, who had arrived at the mansion ten minutes previous. What was supposed to be a visit to Patchouli had become a rather grim scene.

It was hard for the three to believe. Especially for Marisa, who had experienced the power of the mansion's inhabitants first hand. For all of them to be defeated so easily was simply incomprehensible.

Swallowing her drying throat, Marisa asked with forced calm, "And Patchy? How's she? And Remilia?"

Sakuya, sitting stiffly at the study's table due to the lasting damage from being thrown against a wall, hesitated for a moment before replying.

"Remi's... upset." Sakuya told them, which was putting it lightly. After Meiling had carried a dying Patchouli back into the mansion and handed her to Koakuma for critical medical care, Sakuya descended to the basement to find Remilia. The vampire had awoken quickly, and after hearing that Flandre was taken and the others were completely trashed, she simply locked herself in her room.

"And as for Patchy... Koakuma's doing everything she can." The maid added. While not a proficient nurse in any form, Koakuma had drawn every drop of magic power she had to try and regulate Patchouli's breathing, then focus on healing any internal injuries, with the assistance of several machines.

And then there was Meiling... it had taken quite a while to get any coherent story from the gate keeper, who had broken down when Sakuya demanded to know how the enemy had hurt Patchouli so badly. She was horrified to learn the truth, but forced herself not to strike Meiling then and there out of anger. Right now, the gate keeper was in her own room, waiting for her 'swift and justified execution', as she had put it.

"... Was the timing on purpose?" Tara asked quietly, and glanced at Meira's sword, tied to her belt. "Did Artimus send that woman to the village to stall us?"

"No," Elly shook her head. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for Meira in the first place. Without her assault, we wouldn't have come here."

Marisa's eyes narrowed as she tightly gripped the hem of her apron. "I'll bet the bastard set everything up just so we would come across... _this. _He's trying to make us think that we're powerless to stop him."

"And now that he has Flandre, he may as well be," Sakuya added grimly. "Flandre is powerful, even when she's 'playing around'. She won't have a reason to hold back now, and I can't see our Mistress willingly battle Flandre to the death."

A silence filled the study in which the group was located. No one was quite sure what to think or do at the moment. Artimus' attack on the Scarlet Devil Mansion felt like a heavy blow for everyone. Even to those who didn't know its inhabitants, just seeing the shock and horror on the faces of those who did was enough.

"... Well, if Flandre's an enemy, we'll just beat her too." Marisa stated matter-of-factly, drawing surprised stares from everyone else. A cocky, arrogant smile was slowly making itself known on Marisa's face.

"I'm getting quite bored of acting all weak and pathetic, ze. If the big, bad Artimus thinks he can get away with fucking with us all, then let's show him how hard we can bite back!"

A small, amused smile spread across Sakuya's lips. "That's a bold claim. Can you really beat him? Judging from his burned appearance, he can shrug off terrible amounts of damage and simply keep going."

"Then we hit him harder!" Marisa stated confidently. getting to her feet, Marisa turned to Tara and Elly. "And I know you guys have a very big problem with Artie and his girlfriends, so you'd better be willing to kick some serious ass, because the whole of Gensokyo's gonna want their heads, ze!"

_Where did that come from? _Tara wondered, watching the young witch attempt to rally the group. Elly, after a moment of surprise, finally chuckled and got to her feet as well.

"It'll probably take the whole of Gensokyo to beat Artimus," Elly said, "But that's all right with me, as long as it means we can beat him. He's not getting away with this, or anything else he's done to us!"

Sakuya and Tara glanced at each other. No words were spoken, but a message seemed to be transferred between them nonetheless: _'These kids are pretty feisty, huh?'_

At that moment, someone stumbled into the study, panting heavily and shaking. The wings and long, red hair identified her as Koakuma, who glanced at Sakuya with relief.

"Mi-miss Izayoi... It's Lady Pat-Patchouli!" Koakuma gasped, apparently out of breathe. "I-I stabilised her and sh-she'll... make i..."

Koakuma slumped forward, saved from a face plant by Sakuya apparently warping next to the little devil and catching her mid-decent.

Adjusting the Luna Dial in her hand, and despite the pain that clearly rolled through her body, Sakuya lifted Koakuma into her arms, a relieved smile on her face.

"Well well, the klutzy little assistant saved Patchy's life," Sakuya murmured. "And even made the effort to find us before collapsing."

"So Patchy's gonna live!" Marisa whooped.

"Of course. I'll be sure to tell Remi and China this straight away," Sakuya replied, stepping out of the study. Before disappearing, she glanced back at Elly and said, "Ah, about those spell cards you mentioned... I don't know when she'll be fit enough, but leave them here. Patchouli will no doubt deduce a lot of information when she recovers."

And with that, Sakuya seemed to vanish into thin air. Tara wondered how exactly that woman was able to do that, and was somewhat curious as to her identity. That maid was fairly similar to Lyra, now that she thought about it.

Elly meanwhile, placed the box of spell cards onto the table nearby, glad to be rid of them. Turning to Marisa, Elly asked, "So, do you really think we can win against them?"

Marisa folded her arms, staring out into the hallway. After a moment, she replied, "Well, I can definitely see us beating those girls. Flandre... well, Reimu beat her, so I bet I could take her... and as for Artimus..." Marisa sighed. "Honestly, I'd feel a crapton more confident if we had Miss Mima or Yuuka with us..."

Elly merely nodded solemnly, aware of how slim their chances seemed without anyone known for cosmic and/or beyond powerful strength. Still, Elly had promised to win, and that was exactly what she intended to do. the question was; how did they go about beating someone who seemed to match Yuuka in strength and durability?

"...Well, the answer'll come to us soon enough!" Marisa shrugged, sounding optimistic once again. "Anyway, we should really fill the others in on what's happend, ze!"

"Don't mind me if I fall asleep upon our return," Tara replied with a pained sigh. "My head still hurts..."

* * *

><p>Utilising her Luna Dial, Sakuya had moved Koakuma to her room attached to the library, laying the tired youkai to rest. Koakuma looked rather pale, but her expression still showed relief, a faint smile etched upon her face.<p>

"No wonder Patchy insisted on keeping you around," Sakuya muttered as she left. "You're definitely a reliable one..."

The maid's next destination was the infirmary. Or rather, it was a spare bedroom where Patchouli stashed various inventions replicated from her books that were designed to help with recovery. While Sakuya was probably the only person in the household that would require the assistance of these devices, even she had never needed help with healing (although the pain in her back was proving to be a nuisance). And it was these very devices that had helped save Patchouli's life.

_Well, Koakuma must have done the most work..._ Sakuya thought as she entered the infirmary, her time-stopping ability freezing the travel time._ After all, Patchy did say that even these machines have severe limitations..._

The youkai in question was sleeping on the overly large bed (and Patchouli's small size only making the difference rather comical), the quilt providing her modesty. Sakuya made a mental note to find her night gown, but for now simply eyed the machines on either side of bed.

Powered by magic, the devices emitted constant beeps, along with a zig-zagging line. A transparent mask was fitting over Patchouli's mouth, which Sakuya assumed was to help with her breathing. Sakuya had no idea how the devices worked, but she had to give credit to Koakuma for getting them to work without help.

When Sakuya was satisfied that Patchouli was indeed on the mend, the dutiful maid tried to stretch away the pain in her back, before activating her Luna Dial and making her way to Meiling's room.

Meiling sat upon her bed, face buried in her hands when Sakuya arrived. It seemed that Meiling hadn't stopped crying since coming here, or even attended to her wounds. The various cuts inflicted upon her had barely stopped bleeding.

"Patchy's fine now," Sakuya informed her, startling Meiling. "It seems like she'll make a full recovery."

"T-that's great," Meiling sniffed, her eyes red and puffy. "...So what about me?"

"What about you?"

"You know it's my fault Patchy's hurt!" Meiling cried, feeling a lump rising in her throat. "I - I let that girl trick me so easily and I nearly k-k-killed Patchouli!"

Sakuya stared blankly at the sobbing woman before her for a moment. "True, your carelessness nearly cost the life of your friend."

Meiling flinched at that, and nodded in agreement.

"But it was also you that brought her back," Sakuya continued. "Given our sorry state, we were fortunate you had the strength to carry her back. If you didn't, not even Koakuma would've..."

"W-what're you saying?" Meiling sniffed.

"I'm saying that you saved her life," Sakuya explained, moving to Meiling's bed and sitting beside her. "And if I know Patchouli, she'll understand. She'll punish you, yeah, but I know she'll be grateful."

Meiling gave a shaky smile at those words, feeling somewhat reassured, but her smile quickly disappeared as she said, "But... I didn't save Flandre either..."

"Neither did any of us," Sakuya answered solemnly. "That wasn't your fault either. Now, stop acting like a baby. We need a little help with sealing off any new entrances our guests made."

Gripping Meiling's hands in a reassuring manner, Sakuya smiled gently at the gate keeper and said, "Now, hurry up and dress your wounds, okay? I'll see you later."

With an affirmative nod from Meiling, Sakuya got to her feet and left Meiling's room, heading for Remilia's room. She didn't bother with the Lunar Dial this time.

Sakuya figured that Remilia was in no mood for a pep talk, and it was clear as to why. Remilia was devoted to protecting her little sister from everything and everyone. Flandre's 'fragile state of mind' made her too dangerous to mingle with others, and there was Remilia's ultimate responsibility should Flandre ever rampage uncontrollably. That had to be what scared Remilia the most: Turning Gungnir on her own sister.

Arriving at her mistress' room in what would have been no time to others, Sakuya gently knocked the door. "Remilia? It's me. I'm coming in."

No reply. Sakuya opened the door and stepped inside, seeing Remilia lying on her bed, facing the wall. Said wall had a large hole punched through it.

"Patchouli is fine," Sakuya reported. "It might take a while to fully recover, but her life isn't in danger."

Remilia grunted in reply. Normally, such news would have relieved her immensely, but Flandre's fate seemed to be the sole presence in her thoughts.

Sakuya moved next to the bed, placing her hand upon the young vampire's shoulder. "Please don't worry, I promise we will save Flandre."

Remilia snorted at that, turning her head to stare at Sakuya. "Will we now? And how do you propose we do that?"

"... With a little bit of help," Sakuya replied. "Artimus has made quite a few enemies, there's no way he could win against everyone."

Remilia chuckled bitterly, turning her gaze back to the abused wall. "Is that so? Well, if you think numbers will prove a better substitute than absolute destruction, feel free to send everyone to their deaths."

"That attitude isn't helping." Sakuya stated quite coldly. Never in her life had Sakuya spoken to Remilia like that. Sure, she'd scolded her occasionally, but Remilia's attitude indicated that she had already given up on saving her sister, and Sakuya wouldn't allow that. Even if she had to act rather uncharacteristic to get Remilia to see sense.

"I'm just being realistic," Remilia grunted. "It's clear that no one can beat him and Flandre, so why even bother?"

Sakuya's face remained impassive, knowing that her mistress was deeply hurt by her own failure, but to practically condemn her sister without even trying to rescue her...?

"... And here I thought you actually loved her."

Flinching as if struck, Remilia slowly rolled to her other side, staring at Sakuya with shining, angered eyes. "I_ do _love her, Sakuya."

"Really?" Sakuya stated with a hint of feigned disgust. "Could have fooled me, Remilia. Maybe I was wrong about your kind, after all."

Remilia snarled savagely as she leaped to her feet, glowing with rage.

"And I must have been a real dumb ass to believe you could actually love," Sakuya continued with a bitter chuckle. "Silly me, I seem to wasted many years believing a lie."

Remilia punched Sakuya, her fist shaking violently as Sakuya stumbled back slightly. Flexing her throbbing jaw, Sakuya merely glared at Remilia, forcing herself to continue speaking.

"You hit me? Why is that? Could it be that you actually do care for Flandre?"

"Of course I do!" Remilia snarled, her fangs bared. "But what the hell am I supposed to do if Flandre can't kill him?"

"Then _you_ kill him," Sakuya told her, turning heel and leaving the room. "Find a way to save your sister. Flandre would be heartbroken if you were the only one not in the rescue party."

Remilia watched Sakuya leave, feeling anger boiling within her, which gave way to grief and self-loathing. Sakuya was right, she had to find a way to save Flandre, but how could it be done? the two of them together couldn't win, and now Flandre was captured by that man.

Sitting back on her bed, Remilia sighed and buried her head in her hands, wracking her brain to find a solution. She remembered Artimus said that he merely 'hid' his point of destruction, so he wasn't completely invincible... but assuming they got Flandre back, how would they find it?

Failing that, Artimus had apparently taken some damage in the fight, however slight. If the strongest beings in Gensokyo gathered to strike simultaneously, maybe something could be done...?

_It's a long shot, but..._ Flandre's face swam into view, smiling widely and joyfully as she played with Remilia, in the days before her sibling was forced to confinement. _As long as I can get her back, I'll do anything._

Remilia rose to her feet and wandered to the large mirror that occupied a whole corner of her room. Unlike many silly vampire superstitions, Remilia's reflection wasn't non-existent. What it showed was a little girl with a somewhat drained looking face, quickly regaining its natural youth through a new found resolve.

"Aren't you a colossal idiot?" Remilia whispered to her reflection, placing her finger tips upon the glass. "And what do we do with idiots of this calibre?"

Remilia drew her fist back and punched her reflection, shattering the image, as well as the glass.

Idly licking at the cut adorning her knuckles, Remilia turned and marched from the room. She was going to leave that momentary weakness behind and devise a way to save her sister, like she should have done the second she woke up.

"Sakuya... I can't decide if I should kiss you or drain you." Remilia muttered quietly, a shaky smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Arms painfully folded over her chest, Mion studied the vampire sitting before her, with Kat sleeping nearby. Artimus had brought them to some obscure cavern deep within the mountains, mostly to keep Flandre away from the sun, but also so the group could recover.<p>

Flandre herself still had an expression akin to a puppet, staring blankly back at Mion as she thoughtfully studied her.

"Tell me, what are you supposed to do?" Mion asked.

"Serve Artimus in any way possible." Flandre answered monotonously.

"Mm-hm. And why did he choose you, specifically?"

"I believe it is because my power vastly overshadows yours."

Mion's glare intensified. "Are you making a joke there?"

"It was a simple fact."

Resisting the urge to break the infuriating blonde, Mion instead yelled further down the cave, "Oi, Artimus! You're toy's spouting a giant load of crap!"

"That's nice!" Artimus' dismissive reply echoed back. He had retreated further within the cave so he could attempt to accelerate his healing in private. Something that would probably drain even him greatly.

Mumbling and cursing to herself, Mion got to her feet and positioned herself behind Flandre, studying the spell card that had somehow become a part of the vampire's skin.

"Hey, Artimus! How strong is this card?" Mion yelled.

Artimus walked into the cavern at that moment, his skin mostly back to normal, barring a few scars he hadn't removed, and wearing a replacement suit that was completely identical to the last two. Unusually for him, his face looked tired, as if he hadn't slept for a week.

"Pretty strong," Artimus replied. "Only higher class youkai would be able to begin resisting the charm."

"So... it's not going to fall off at the worst time, or break through the power of love, right?" Mion asked.

Artimus gave a weary chuckle as he looked at Flandre, who returned the gaze lifelessly. "It shouldn't do. Force would be the only way to get rid of it."

"And no doubt someone's going to rip it off very soon..." Mion muttered darkly.

"You should have more faith in me!" Artimus said in mock hurt, although he was still smiling slightly. "Well, assuming someone attempted to rip that card from her flesh, several things would happen."

Folding her arms, Mion gave him an 'oh?', awaiting an explanation.

"The first being an excrutiating pain for Flandre here," Artimus said, patting the vampire's shoulder. "After all, she would be practically getting her neck ripped off!"

"That doesn't sound like a minus to me." Mion stated.

"The next would be a defence mechanism of sorts," Artimus continued, unimpeded. "Once the card is removed, it would send a rather large volt of my own power throughout her body. Destroying, if not severely crippling young Flandre from the inside."

Mion raised her eyebrows at that, and glanced at the spell card again. "That's... actually kind of cool. I guess you're prepared for when you lose control?"

"Flandre isn't one to have as an opponent," Artimus sighed, nodding.

Before Mion could revel in some new-found respect for Artimus doing something that vaguely resembled a competently villainous idea, she asked, "So why don't you do this more often? We could have started our own little army by now."

Artimus nodded once again, his smile gone. "Yes, but... this way is just boring and cruel."

"... What." Mion blinked in surprise.

"Spreading fear and chaos is a thing to be enjoyed, yes?" Artimus asked Mion, giving her a serious look. "It's like a form of art, I suppose. You must enjoy what you do, or else it's just a meaningless waste of time and talent. With that spell card, Flandre will follow my every whim, but she won't feel a thing from it."

"...That's bad?" Mion asked in disbelief.

To demonstrate his point, Artimus knelt before Flandre, who hadn't so much as twitched in all this time and asked, "Flandre, how would you feel if I asked you to slaughter every villager within a ten mile radius?"

"I would do it without hesitation." Flandre answered obediently.

"Yes, but how would you _feel_ about it?" Artimus pressed.

Again, without hesitation, Flandre replied, "I would fulfil my task to the letter without fail."

"Then what if I asked you to kill Remilia Scarlet?"

"I would kill her without hesitation." Flandre stated monotonously.

With another sigh, Artimus rose to his feet, saying, "And there you have it. A mindless puppet that can't enjoy her gift. She deserves more than that."

"How sweet," Mion said in disgust. "And, her emotions matter... why?"

"She's an ally, Mion. Surely you could be a little nicer?" Artimus asked teasingly, and stifled a rather large yawn. "Well, I'm going to nap for a little while. Play nicely, you two."

Artimus again retreated further into the cave, leaving Mion, Flandre and a still-slumbering Kat.

_Worst. Villain. Ever_. Mion thought in annoyance._ Maybe I should try overthrowing him or- _Mion noticed that Flandre had risen to her feet and was facing the ribbon-clad girl. "... What? You want a bathroom, go outside."

"We must play."

Mion stared at Flandre silently for several seconds, making sure she had heard right. Finally, Mion growled, "What?"

"Our orders. We must play nicely," Flandre stated matter-of-factly. "Would you like to suggest a game?"

"...What the hell?" Mion said in mild confusion.

* * *

><p>Fidgeting nervously, Anya watched as Alice's eys darted swiftly through the lines of words. Despite the apparent speed she was reading, Alice didn't give the impression of merely skimming the story's contents.<p>

It didn't take long for Alice to finish the story, and snapped the book shut, returning it to its owner wordlessly.

"... It was bad, right?" Anya asked quietly, her gaze downcast.

"... A B minus, at best," Alice replied, and Anya looked somewhat disappointed. "That usually means a pass, you know."

"Y-yeah, but..."

Alice smiled ever so slightly at the nervous girl. "Relax, the story was fine. The detail was lacking in many places, but your character was relatable, and her situation generates sympathy from the reader."

Anya gave the doll master a look of surprise, her cheeks reddening slightly at the praise. That had been more than she was expecting.

"So... you liked it?"

"For the most part," Alice replied gently. "You need a bit more work, but as you are, I imagine you're quite a powerful illusionist."

Anya blushed slightly more as she drummed her fingers over the book's cover. "Well... t-to be honest, my writing doesn't need to be good to work... just applicable."

"Is that so?" Alice wondered aloud. "Well, regardless, work on the details, plan out your story lines a bit more, and you should become one of the finer author's of Gensokyo," After a moment, she added, "And make sure your message is conveyed clearly, the ending of that story can't seem to decide if a solitary life is healthy or not."

"Right!" Anya seemed a bit more enthusiastic as she leaped to her feet. "Thank you, Miss Margatroid! I'll work on something new right away!"

"'Alice' is fine. And don't rush," Alice replied, rising to her feet as well. "Take your time, plan carefully."

With an eager nod, Anya rushed from the room, with Alice following. Everyone else had found some other way to occupy their time while Alice critiqued Anya's writings.

"Okay... I can do this..." Shujiko muttered, slowly reaching for the top card in the deck. Slowly moving it to an upturned, messy pile of more cards, she muttered, "This time, I will be_ victorious_!"

"Yeah, assuming it's another ten," An incredibly bored Reimu grumbled, slumping her head upon her palm. "So hurry up and put it down."

With a shaky nod, Shujiko quickly flipped the card and placed it upon the pile. Everyone scrutinised the new addition, seeing that was, indeed, a ten of clubs placed upon the ten of hearts.

Immediately, the players launched their hands towards the pile. Or rather, Reimu half-heartedly jerked a hand in its general direction, but Rena and Shujiko had already beaten her to it.

"Snap!" Rena roared cheerfully, her hand having just slapped the pile before Shujiko's. "I did it, ha ha!"

"Lucky..." Shujiko muttered, retracting her hand.

"Congrats, you won a round of the most boring card game ever conceived," Reimu sighed. "Now, can we please play something better? Like... Poker or Old Geezer or... or Battle Suites?"

"But this is all I know how to play..." Rena said apologetically.

"And just what the heck is 'battle suites'? Shujiko asked.

Alice watched the girls play/argue for a moment, and moved to the patio, where Genji had decided to nap. He blinked an eye open as Alice sat next to him, watching the sky.

"I'd have thought they'd be back..." Alice muttered. Genji nodded slowly.

"I'm sure they're fine. After all, there's no signs of battle." He said reassuringly.

Alice made an 'mm' sound as she searched the skies for any sign of Marisa's and the other's return. Just what was taking them so long?

"Ah, as I thought," Genji jerked his wrinkled head towards the forest. "There they are, safe and sound. Perhaps they stopped somewhere?"

Alice turned her head and sure enough, three figures where fast approaching. The one in black and riding a broomstick gave away her identity quite quickly, and Alice was smiling in relief as she awaited their return.

"About time too, now I can make comments related to love triangles." Genji said with a dry chuckle, and Alice glared at the turtle, struggling to keep her composure.

"A-and what's that supposed to mean?"

"That you like Marisa!" Shujiko cheerfully pointed out, having snuck up on the two, the card game apparently disbanded. At Alice's embarrassed fluster, Shujiko merely giggled. "Don't worry about it! You're not the only one 'round here with a crush on someone!"

"Hm?" Genji sounded interested. "What's this, Shujiko? Did you pick on Anya's feelings for someone, too?"

Shujiko looked confused at surprised at the question. "Anya? No no no, I mean... wait, I'm not supposed to say, am I?" Shujiko realised, flushing slightly.

Before Genji could investigate further into this clearly important matter, Marisa, Elly and Tara made their return. Anya rushed from the shrine, gleefully tackling Tara into a hug, while Rena took a much calmer approach to welcoming them back.

"Hey, you got a new sword," Rena pointed out. "What, was my ancestor's blade too boring now?"

"No! I'm just holding it!" Tara protested to Rena's chuckles.

"So you're all okay, then?" Reimu asked Elly and Marisa, who nodded. the scythe-wielding girl looked somewhat grim, while Marisa was her usual cheerful self.

"We'd better fill you lot in on what happened," Elly spoke, glancing back at the forest. "It's about that family of vampires."

"Huh...? Wait, you mean the Scarlet Devil Mansion?" Reimu asked with dread. "Don't tell me they've been attacked?"

Elly merely nodded, and everyone looked rather tense now, as if expecting soul-crushing news to follow.

"It's not all bad!" Marisa said with forced optimism. "I mean, they're mostly okay! No fatalaties!"

"You said 'mostly'," Rena pointed out. "What exactly happened? What about the village?"

Elly walked into the shrine, heading for the kitchen to prepare some tea. "Make yourselves comfortable, we'll fill you in."

* * *

><p>On the one hand, crossing a river that somehow symbolised how long you had lived was an interesting concept. It showed you just how much you had experienced, with ocean-like 'rivers' apparently being quite the achievement. On the other hand, the boat used to cross this monumental river was literally operated by an apparently lazy shinigami who simply splashed the water. While the speed achieved by this method was mind bogglingly fast, it was still essentially moving at ten miles per hour. And there was a lot of water to cross.<p>

Lyra herself had already grown quite bored of this. She got it: Her life was incredibly long. Was there a point to reminding her? Just skip to the part where she met that Yamaxanadu already! Lyra desperately needed to reincarnate fast, lest some tragedy befall Christina and the others.

Komachi herself had dozed off at some point, perhaps as tired of the uneventful boat ride as her passenger. However, Lyra could see a shore line fast approaching, and she sighed in relief. "Oh, good. I think we're nearly there."

Komachi grunted and blinked her eyes open. With a slurred what?', she glanced over her shoulder. "Ah, right. Finally."

The lazy shinigami placed her hand into the water once again, pushing her hand forward and somehow accelerating the little boat. After several long minutes, the boat finally bumped onto shore.

"Well, that's that part done." Komachi said, getting to her feet and stretching widely, the scythe held high above her head.

Lyra also got to her feet, and followed Komachi off the boat and onto dry land, were they both made their way up a somewhat steep hill.

"You're keeping up quite well!" Komachi complimented, noticing that Lyra had yet to slow or gasp for breathe.

"I was a maid for centuries, you think I didn't build up my strength?" Lyra asked with an amused smile.

"Speaking of which, why be one for so long?" Komachi asked as she neared the top of the hill, next to a towering tree. Said tree had countless branches sprouting from virtually all possible heights, and seemed to stretch way beyond the sky.

Reaching the tree and Komachi, Lyra gave her a curious stare. "You want to know? Do you ask every soul about their life choices?"

"Why not?" Komachi shrugged. "So? What's the appeal to being a maid?"

"Well... it wasn't so much loving being a maid..." Lyra answered, a wistful smile on her face. "So much as caring for my master. I started as the maid of an old friend of mine, and the whole succession thing started when I didn't want to 'rule' over anyone. I was much better at doing the house work."

"You're weird," Komachi stated. "All that work... and I'll bet it was a giant house, too."

"It's not exactly hard..." Lyra muttered, and craned her neck to see the top of the tree. "Um... by the way, what's with this?"

Komachi moved next to Lyra, smiling fondly. "This? It used to test souls."

"Don't tell me you had to climb to the top to reach heaven?" Lyra asked in wonder.

"Nah, you see that?" Komachi pointed to the lowest branch of the tree, which just barely hung above the shinigami's head. "We'd simply weigh your clothes on it, and if the branch sagged, you were evil."

Lyra stared wordlessly at Komachi, then the branch for several moments, before finally asking, "Come again?"

"What you do is: Take your clothes off," Komachi spoke as if trying to teach a simpleton. "Place them on this branch, and we see how evil you are."

"... Dare I ask why?"

"Can't remember why. It was kinda cancelled about three thousand and one years ago," Komachi said, looking thoughtful as she tried to recall the details. "The Yamaxanadu said it was rather unpopular, for some reason."

"'Some reason'?" Lyra repeated with raised eyebrows. "What, was 'stripping in front of a stranger' just too ridiculous?"

Komachi merely shrugged, shouldering her scythe. "I dunno. I'm a shinigami, it's not like I'd drool over every naked person I see. Such base desires are far below me." Komachi added with a smug smile. "Yep, only godly pleasures are fit for someone of my status!"

"Lovely," Lyra sighed, not really wanting to know what 'godly pleasures' were required to please the shinigami. "How about we just meet your Yamazanada?"

"_Yamaxanadu_." Komachi corrected, and began walking again, leaving Lyra to folow close behind. From the hill top, Lyra could see a single, solitary building in what appeared to be a meadow. Presumably the Yamaxanadu's residence.

_She'll be reasonable, right?_ Lyra wondered, keeping herself composed. _She'll know I have to return...I need to protect them._

* * *

><p>After the recap was finished, everyone in the Hakurei Shrine was stunned into silence, unable to believe what had happened. A mad swordswoman, and an attack on the Scarlet Devil Mansion? Just what was Artimus doing?<p>

"You said... he kidnapped Flandre Scarlet?" Reimu asked hollowly, and Marisa nodded. "Okay... remind me again: Flandre's the psychotic one, right?"

"I guess. You're the one that fought her, ze."

"Right..." Reimu sighed, slumping her head into her arms. Things just kept getting worse. Flandre had been a real troublesome opponent, Reimu recalled. She seemed to possess more power than anyone else in that mansion, and was certianly the most chilling. The shrine maiden couldn't really tell if the younger vampire had been insane or simply messing around, but her power was undeniable. If Artimus had her in his grasp...

Marisa seemed less concerned about that though. "Don't wuss out, you've already beat her before. I'd rather know why that crazy woman hates you, ze"

Tara nodded slightly at that. "And I'd like to know as well, she acted like you'd killed her family."

Reimu frowned thoughtfully as she tried to recall the person they were talking about. After several moments, Reimu finally shrugged. "Not a clue."

Genji sighed in disbelief. "Come on, Lady Reimu... I know she was an inconseqential opponent, but I can remember her quite clearly. You know, the person who wanted your power for her own? Called herself Meira?"

"I thought everyone wanted my power?" Reimu asked, and shook her head. "Whatever, she's not a threat any more, right? So, let's concentrate on finding out how we're supposed to beat Artimus and get Flandre back."

Everyone was silent for a while, unable to think of a fool-proof plan to save the powerful vampire from an even more powerful... thing.

Finally, Shujiko thought of something, "I'll go get her!"

Everyone stared at her in surprise. "What?" Reimu stated.

"I think I've got the best chance!" Shujiko explained quickly. "I can just will myself to charge in, knock Flandre out, and get her back before I succumb to any injuries!"

Everyone present stared blankly at her for several moments, each with varying degrees of confusion etched on their faces. After a moment, Reimu shook her head.

"Shujiko, you'd die doing that."

"But-"

"I don't care how hard you can push yourself! Your body couldn't last long!" Reimu scolded, silencing the will youkai. Sighing, Reimu continued, "I know you mean well, but consider your own limits, okay? Even if you could find Flandre, you'd have three opponents wailing on you all the way."

"I'd help," Rena volunteered. "I don't know how much help I would be, but I can't let her go alone-"

"Why are we even suggesting any of this?" Elly asked, flopping onto her back. "It's not like we even _know_ where they are."

Tara nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately, talk of a rescue seems pointless unless we find their hiding place."

"So what? Are we just supposed to wait until Artimus makes Flandre blow up her home?" Marisa asked. "Becasue I'd quite like to prevent that, ze."

Alice, lost in her thoughts while the others discussed amongst themselves, was formulating a plan. Nothing big and fantastic, but maybe enough to help them find their enemies.

"We can find them," Alice announced, silencing the others as they faced the doll master. "I'll just send my dolls."

"You mean Shangai?" Anya asked, casting her gaze to the ceiling, where Shangai was floating with several of the fairies from the Daidouji's manor.

"Kind of. I won't send her, just in case the mindless one of the group somehow recognises her." Alice explained, "But I have several dolls made in the image of fairies. If I send them out into Gensokyo, they can report anything suspicious, without being detected."

Everyone thought this over for a moment. No one was confident in its success, but it also meant none of them would be putting themselves at risk for now.

"What about us?" One of the fairies asked, fluttering towards the table to face Rena. "We can do that, too!"

"But what if you lot got hurt?" Rena asked, worry in her voice. The fairy only laughed mokingly.

"You forget, mistress! We're fairies! Death isn't gonna kill us!"

"Ain't that the truth." Marisa muttered.

Rena pursed her lip, still wanting to decline, but the fairy looked rather determined, and Rena was quite sure this fairy was one of the servants that would disobey orders any chance she got. Telling her to stay would only result in the fairy leading a stealth force within the hour. "Fine, you know how to remain inconspicious, right?"

The fairy saluted and returned to the ceiling, where she began to mutter frantically to the rest of the flock (and Shangai) about their new mission.

"I'd better go home and get my dolls, then." Alice said, glad to have a chance to leave the shrine for a little while and reurn to her habitat.

Marisa got to her feet as well, "Hey, Alice, it might not be s-"

"I can handle a tripto my own home, thank you," Alice cut the magician off coldly. Marisa blinked, her mouth hanging open. A tad more pleasantly, Alice continued, "See you in a bit, then. Come, Shangai."

Alice made her way out of the shrine as Elly returned to a sitting position, watching her go. "I might be imagining it, but Alice sounded just a _little_ bit annoyed there."

"But why?" Marisa asked, and Genji rolled his eyes.

"Ask her later. For now, let's get ready to react to any more attacks."

"I'm taking that to mean I can actually do something." Reimu said, hopping to her feet. Stretching her arms above her head, the shrine maiden was about to pick up the tray of empty tea cups when a sharp pain in her head put that idea on hold for now.

Grunting in surprise, Reimu clasped her forehead , wondering just what had happened. Her heart started to race as another wave of pain rolled through her mind.

_Shit, what's wrong now? _Reimu wondered, gritting her teeth.

"Reimu?" Marisa and Shujiko rushed to grab her, preventing Reimu from collapsing under the pain. Genji immediately ordered them to take her to her room, while Elly and the Daidouji's watched with surprise and fear.

"Genji, what the fuck's wrong?" Marisa demanded an answer as she and Shujiko lay the pained shrine maiden onto her futon.

"I don't know!" Genji snapped. "Lady Reimu! Please, calm down! Shujiko, Marisa! Do you have any medicinal spells?"

Shujiko shook her head, looking frantic as she watched Reimu cry out in pain and begin to thrash about, clasping her head. Marisa produced her hakkero, mentally flicking through her catalogue of spells to find something meant to relieve pain.

_Not a one... _The witch's results produced nothing, and Reimu felt a sharp pain in her chest as well, before it all seemed to recede completely, leaving the shrine maiden drained of her strength.

Feeling fatigue creep over her, Reimu began to fall into a deep sleep, barely aware of the figures yelling questions at her. Whatever they wanted to know, it could wait until she had rested...

* * *

><p>Sitting quietly at her side, Remilia watched her friend as she slept through the incessant beeping of the machines, feeling eternally thankful to Koakuma for saving Patchouli's life. And Remilia had merely tried to hide away in her room like a pathetic waste of organic matter! The Scarlet Devil felt disgusted with herself. Her ancestors would have probably driven a stake through her heart for giving up just like that...<p>

The door opened, and Sakuya stepped inside, a night gown draped over her arm, most likely for Patchouli. She paused when she saw Remilia, guilt briefly flashing in her eyes.

"Sakuya," Remilia drawled, grinning widely at her maid. "I take it you've been looking after the others?"

"Yes," Sakuya replied, a worried expression on her face. "Um, Mistress-"

"I thought we were on a first name basis?" Remilia asked.

"R-Remilia, do you feel fine?" Sakuya asked, and Remilia's smile grew.

"For the most part. My rage is still burning from within, but I don't plan on wasting it on myself," Remilia replied. "How about you? you're movements look stiff."

Sakuya nodded slowly. "It's just a minor injury, nothing that would impede my duties."

"Rest," Remilia ordered, getting to her feet. "I want all of you to recover as quickly as possible."

"Remilia?" Sakuya watched as the vampire passed her by to leave the room.

"What? We must rescue Flandre as soon as possible." Remilia stated, glancing over her shoulder, a resolve burning in her scarlet eyes.

Sakuya blinked, and a relieved smile spread across her face.

"Remi... I'm sorry for what I said," Sakuya said, bowing her head and ignoring the wave of pain that entailed. "I should've found a better way to convince you-"

"It worked, so don't regret your words," Remilia told her. "For now, just rest. Our time to strike back will soon be upon us."

Nodding affirmatively, Remilia left the room to investigate the rest of her mansion for damages.

_Artimus... prepare yourself. I'll show you the Scarlet Devil's _true_ fury soon enough!_

* * *

><p><strong>Later That Night<strong>

The Garden of Sunflowers was still as bright and vibrant as ever, despite the lack of attendance over the past few days. It always amazed Artimus how Yuuka could make something as simple as a flower burst with life and radiance, especially back when she indulged in the fear and death of humans world wide. Even now, when she had succumbed to Artimus' petrification spell, the plant life seemed to congregate closely to her form, as if to protect her from any more danger.

Approaching the petrified Yuuka, the fully-healed, but drained Artimus smiled as he neared his old friend.

Covered in vines and various flowers of varying origin, Artimus gazed into the stone eyes of Yuuka Kazami, noting the tell-tale cracks that ran along her whole body that it was nearly time.

Artimus merely stood and watched the statue for several moments, the seconds ticking away ever so slowly. The cracks would ocasionally grow in size, criss-crossing all over. Finally, after the web of lines seemed to have no more space to spread, the statue shattered.

Grey stone fell to the ground and plant life seemed to root themselves back into the ground as the woman emerged from her prison, alive and well. She slumped to her knees, panting heavily and tightly gripping the umbrella in one hand.

Artimus extended a hand to the woman, who slowly raised her eyes to gaze at him, an amused smile on her face.

"Come to welcome me back, have you?" Yuuka asked pleasantly, accepting his hand and allowed Artimus to pull her to her feet.

"It's the least I could do for being so discourteous," Artimus replied aplogetically. "It seems you haven't lost your edge, huh?"

"Of course not! I'm the embodiment of improbability and awesomeness," Yuuka laughed, brushing at her clothes. "I even stopped my dress from shattering with the stone!"

Artimus chuckled affectionately. "You're defence is as inexplicable as ever."

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Yuuka asked, heading for the patio of her mansion, a slight stagger in her step. "I hope you haven't come to re-seal me, because that would suck."

"No no, I don't intend to resort to that again." Artimus reassured his old friend, offering an arm for her to lean on. She accepted and the two ascended the few steps to her patio, where the two took a seat by the outside table.

Gazing analytically at the man across the table, Yuuka grinned in anticipation. "Oh? Well, are you here to tell me that you're plan is going perfectly?"

"Not perfectly... but it's proceeding fine, yes," Artimus nodded. "I've been fortunate not to face the absolute best of Gensokyo yet."

Yuuka raised an eyebrow as she reached for a cup of tea, only to realise that the table was bare. Pouting briefly, Yuuka thought Artimus' statement over carefully. From the sound of things, Artimus had yet to face Reimu Hakurei for some reason... unless...

_Is it time already? Hm, what timing... _Yuuka thought with a mental sigh. _Of all the times she had to return..._

"Something on your mind, Yuuka?" Artimus asked politely.

"Oh, nothing important..." Yuuka sighed, gazing at the sky. "I was just wondering... has Yukari interfered at all?"

Artimus gave Yuuka an amused look. "I thought it was 'too early' for her to make an appearance?"

"Perhaps, but I imagine you've sufficiently messed up the general order of things, so she should've poked her head into this affair by now." Yuuka replied, her thoughtful tone masking how strange and almost troubling Yukari's apparent absence was.

Artimus himself looked serious as he replied. "She hasn't appeared yet, and to be honest I'm curious as to why, as well. Perhaps I haven't sufficently endangered the major players of Gensokyo?"

"... Who knows?" Yuuka shrugged. "Regardless of her interference, there's really only one thing I care to know."

Artimus nodded, knowing what she was getting at. "You needn't worry, your, um... child is safe."

Yuuka giggled at that. "I thought I said she wasn't my daughter?"

"Forgive me, it's just that you seem so close," Artimus grinned widely. "I wonder... she was the 'love' that ultimately tamed your black heart, right?"

Yuuka raised a wrist and glanced at an invisible watch with a raised eyebrow. "Wow, congrats! It only took you two hundred and eighty nine years to figure it out! A new record for Artie!"

"Thank you, thank you..." Artimus replied modestly. "I have to say, to this day I'm still surprised. However did she turn you, I wonder...?"

"Like I mentioned, with love," Yuuka sighed blisfully. "Children simply burst with it! Seeing her terrified and traumatised is all well and good, but I found myself craving her happy, cheerful face even more!"

Artimus chuckled, and stared out to the garden. "Well, I can tell she's utterly devoted to you. So, when will you inform her that you're alive and well?"

"When I recover my strength," Yuuka answered, yawning slightly. "I honestly have never felt so drained in my life, and like hell I'm letting _anyone_ see me in such a state!"

"Well, your priorities seem fine," Artimus laughed, getting to his feet. "Well, get well soon, Yuuka. I hope to face you properly on the battlefield of despair."

Yuuka grinned darkly as she stared into Artimus' eyes. "Yes, I'll look forward to our little kerfuffle. I hope you've improved since our last spar, Artie. That last defeat was simply appalling!"

Artimus winced. "Please don't remind me..."

Without another word, Artimus casually left the Garden, with Yuuka watching all the while. When Yuuka could sense that he was no longer within her domain, she breathed a heavy sigh and slumped over the table, her body as heavy as several sacks of bricks. She really needed to sleep.

Her mind again drifted to Yukari Yakumo. Just what was that idiotic woman playing at? Yuuka wasn't exactly a friend of the boundary youkai, but she certainly knew enough about her to suspect her absence.

_Is Artimus merely her playing piece, I wonder? _Yuuka thought, searching for any reason or motive Yukari would have to send a monster of Yuuka's calibre into Gensokyo, fully intent on terorising everyone who lived within it. Even if such an act was all a part of Yukari's greater scheme, it was too out of character for her.

Well, whatever her reason... it was currently irrelevant. Right now, Yuuka needed to recuperate. Once her strength returned, she could better question Gensokyo's current state. For now, Elly and the others would be sufficient for defending the land...


	13. Chapter 13 Lost Fantasy

**Forest of Magic, Alice's House, Afternoon**

Alice was glad to be home. Not only was it not insanely crowded (or rather, her dolls didn't take up too much space compared to all the people at the shrine), but she was back in her natural environment. Of course, she had to send her dolls out to search for Artimus soon enough.

Alice had seated herself at the workbench she almost always occupied, where her latest doll was still in development. For the past hour, she had worked on carefully constructing the body, laying complex and intricate enchantments within in order to animate the body. Of course, Alice planned to do far more than that, but creating a doll completely synonomous with a living being was still an incredibly difficult goal she had yet to reach.

"Master! Sixty two minutes have passed!" Shangai informed Alice, "Shall I relay word back to Hakurei Shrine of your safety?"

"Send Margaret." Alice muttered, still hard at work. With an affirmative nod, Shangai fluttered to a white robed doll sitting in the front room, who immediately flew off to comply with the request.

Alice sighed, stopping her work for the moment. Getting to her feet, two more dolls flew to her side, carrying a cup of tea between them.

"Thank you." Alice took the cup and walked to the front room, sitting on the armchair. After an hour of using that stool, she was glad to have something cushioned to sit upon.

"Everyone gather," Alice ordered, and sipped her drink as all fairies in the house rushed to flock in front of her. Gazing at her creations, Alice lowered the cup. Many of them greatly resembled fairies, with their diminutive size and (programmed) mannerisms. Some of them were clearly constructed, but as long as they kept their distance and kept moving, no one should notice what they were.

"I want each of you to search this forest," Alice began. "And look for a male youkai, as well as two females. If you see anyone acting suspicously, contact me immediately at the Hakurei Shrine."

"Yes, master!" The fairies replied in a resounding chorus, and Alice smiled gently.

"And stay safe, okay? It will be a pain to rebuild each of you."

With another chorus of 'yes master', the fairies filed out of the house, splitting into pairs or trios, and each taking a seperate direction of the forest. Only Shangai remained with Alice.

"Master, shouldn't I help too?" Shangai asked curiously, and Alice only shook her head, which seemed to be enough of an answer for the doll.

For several more minutes, Alice remained seated and finished her tea, staring into space. Her mind began to wander to that confrontation the other day, where she had shamefully lost her composure to that freak.

_Marisa promised to help me with that fear, as well... _Alice remembered, leaning back into the chair. _Once this Incident is over... assuming she even remembers._

Alice didn't expect her to remember, especially when she was too busy worrying after Reimu. Again, Alice felt jealous. That was becoming a huge pain, as well. Did she really have to act like worrying over a sickly friend was a sign of unconditional love?

Shaking her head, Alice got to her feet, laying the empty cup on the arm of the chair, and returned to her workbench. She wanted to make some more progress with this new doll before returning to the shrine. And hopefully, those stupid thoughts would be long gone by then.

* * *

><p><strong>Hakurei Shrine, 3 a.m<strong>.

Rena was seated on the patio, gazing into the sky with longing. The stars were bright, each one twinkling magnificently. A cold breeze whipped through the air, yet the lightly dressed girl didn't shudder.

Today had been a pretty lousy day, as was the running trend lately. Rena was frightened. Reimu's condition, whatever it was, had apparently gotten worse, and there didn't seem to be any kind of solution. Rena felt powerless to help her, just as she was powerless to save Lyra...

**Still blaming yourself over that? **Christina's voice floated through her mind, surprising the young youkai. **Come on, I told you it wasn't your fault.**

"Chri-" Rena nearly yelped, and silenced herself in time. Glancing into the dark shrine, she saw no one was disturbed.

_Christina! Where've you been? _Rena asked mentally.

**Uh, in here? **Christina sounded like she was stating the obvious. **I've just been keeping to myself for a bit.**

_Well, you could've checked in once in a while... _Rena sighed, laying onto her back, letting her bare feet dangle over the patio's edge. _It's been hard enough as it is without me having to worry whether or not you'll ever wake up._

**Sorry... **Came the reply. **... I've just watched your memories. Is Reimu okay?**

_No idea. _Rena sighed mentally.

A silence filled the twin's shared mind, each one unsure of what to say. It was no use bemoaning Reimu's condition, much better to find a solution, but how could they help?

**We'll just need to sleep for now. **Christina suggested.** It looks like Reimu's fine for now, and I don't want to wake up with a cold tomorrow.**

Rena nodded in agreement, and got to her feet. Carefully, she stepped towards Tara and Anya, sleeping near the entrance to the room. Alice, who had returned near midnight, slept by the kotatsu with Elly and Genji, and Marisa and Shujiko were in the room with Reimu to keep a closer eye on her.

Quietly laying down by Tara's free side, Rena snuggled closely to her, the twins wishing each other a good night.

**Rena?** Christina asked nervously.

_Hm?_

**If we... if we find Lyra's killer... what will we do?**

Rena thought to herself for a second before replying._ I dunno. Maybe beat the shit out of the girl, but that Artimus guy... why?_

**Just wondering. Good night.**

As Christina's subconscious began to drift within her mind, Rena frowned slightly, worried about Christina might be thinking. She still couldn't access her sister's thoughts...

* * *

><p><strong>Higan, Time Unknown<strong>

"I have to say," Lyra commented as she and Komachi approached the Yamaxanadu's residence. "When I imagine the home of a deity who presides over souls, I don't expect a cottage in a meadow."

"Really?" Komachi sounded surprised for some reason. "Well, where else would the Yamaxanadu live?"

"Never mind..." Lyra shook her head. Before long, they were at the front door of the rather unassuming cottage. The walls were a lime green colour, with a round window on either side of the wooden door.

_Is this really a god's house? _Lyra wondered in amazement_._

After several moments of staring at the door, Komachi sighed and rapped her knuckles on the door. Startled, the maid tried to appear calm and composed, hands clasped tightly in front of her.

"Just a minute!" Someone from within called.

"There, that wasn't so hard!" Komachi said brightly. "And don't worry so much, I've already told you she's nice."

"I know, but... this is my first time meeting a god," Lyra replied. "It's a bit of a new experience for me."

The door opened, and Lyra immediately tured her gaze to the person before her.

"Lyra Daidouji, " Komachi pointed her hand at the green-haired woman. "Allow me to introduce Yamaxanadu Shikieiki!"

"A pleasure." Shikieiki smiled warmly, extending a hand. Blinking, Lyra took hold of it, receiving a firm handshake.

"Come in, you two! I was just brewing some tea." Shikieiki said, walking back into the cottage. Komachi led Lyra into the main room, where an ornate table tray was laid to rest upon an oak table, surrounding by armchairs. The cups and kettle themselves looked like priceless antiques, and gave the impression that even just one of the cups was worth far more than everything the Daidouji's owned, and then some. Did dead people really need something so valuable? Or was that a perk to being dead? Lyra wasn't sure.

"Please, sit down." Shikieiki waved a hand at the armchairs. Komachi settled herself down, completely at ease, while Lyra was far more tense, butterflies practically thrashing around her stomach. Her fingers drummed nervously over her knees.

Shikieki busied herself with pouring tea, humming merrily to herself as she did. Passing a cup and saucer to Komachi, Shikeiki said, "So, Komachi, I noticed that you're lagging behind on your work again."

Komachi pouted as she accepted the tea. "Hey, I haven't slept since three weeks ago! I'm working my butt off to keep up with the incoming souls!"

Miss Daidouji," Shikieki turned to Lyra, smiling cheerfully. "Was my lazy colleague here snoozing at any point?"

"Oh, uh... I..." Lyra wasn't quite sure what to say. What if she got the shinigami in trouble? That wouldn't be a good way to repay her escort, regardless of whether it was a part of her job. But if Komachi really was slacking off such an important duty...

Shikieiki only laughed, however. "As I thought. Komachi, must I tell you again how important it is that you remain dilligent?"

As Komachi sighed and recited a line she most likely spoke every time she came here about how she shouldn't slack off, Lyra studied the Yamaxanadu. She was much more... friendly than the maid had expected. Hell, if Lyra passed her on the street, she would have seen her as nothing more than a normal human or youkai, not some judge of the dead.

Her clothing was somewhat different from what Lyra usually saw, though. Shikieki wore a dark blue and black dress with white sleeves and golden decorations, each arm adorned with either a red or white bow. Her hat was similarly coloured, with a large, golden emblem in front. Funnily enough, comapred to Komachi she was downright diminuitive.

Lyra also noticed some sort of pointed rod lying on the table next to the tray, with several markings along it. She wondered what that was for.

"Miss Daidouji?" Shikieki spoke, startling Lyra out of her thoughts. Smiling warmly, the judge of the dead continued, "I said, how was your tea?"

"O-oh!" Lyra quickly took a sip of her untouched drink. "It's... it's lovely. Thank you."

"I doubt it compares to yours," Shikieki laughed, taking a seat opposite Lyra and beside Komachi. She seemed to study Lyra for a moment, her blue eyes scanning the maid intently.

"Well, I can tell you want me to hurry this up," Shikieiki spoke. "You want an immediate answer, don't you?"

Lyra was surprised that she could tell, then figured that being some sort of god probably had something to do with that, and merely nodded.

"Well..." Shikeiki leaned forward and picked the rod up, placing the tip to her lips as if in thought. She closed her eyes for several moments, nodding every so often.

"Your heart is kind," Shikieiki finally spoke, smiling widely as she opened her eyes and lowered the rod. "It's my understanding, in your life time, you always extended a hand to those in need?"

Lyra blushed slightly, and tried to hide it by drinking more tea. Gulping the warm liquid down, she spoke, "Well, I couldn't bear to see anyone unhappy, so..."

Shikieiki nodded knowingly, as if she already knew all the details to Lyra's life. "Yes, every single time you gave and asked for nothing inreturn. Well, except for two particular individuals..."

Lyra's lips pursed, having an idea as to who the Yamaxanadu was referring to. With a look of guilt, she gazed into Shikieki's eyes, who hadn't stopped smiling cheerfully.

"These two, Tara and Anya, were rather unfortunate children when you first met them," Shikieki narrated, Komachi listening intently despite having this information recorded in her note book. "When their individual talents became known, you desired to have them help you with the problem that cropped up with your latest Mistress."

Seeing Lyra's guilty look, Shikieki merely chuckled. "I'm not telling you that you were wrong! Relax, I'm just noting a minor exception, and I'm well aware that you were perfectly willing to let them refuse to help if they so wished." The yama shook her head. "Take it from me, a selfish wish or two is natural, and even then you would have compromised to help those two."

Shikieiki tapped at her chin with the rod for a moment, thinking of something else to say. "Hm... well, if there's one flaw in you, it's your lack of confidence."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't know why you find it so embarrassing," Shikieiki commented thoughtfully. "You're a good dancer, you know. Why you only ever do it in secret is beyond me."

Lyra blushed slightly again. She had the uncomfortable image of the yamaxanadu peeping at her from a window as she danced around the foyer while everyone else was occupied with other things.

"But to go and base your spells off dance... pretty creative, I must say," Shikieiki finished with a chuckle.

"Honestly, this is more of a formality than anything else," Shikieki said. "I might as well give you a pass to Heaven. Or Hakugyokoru, whichever appeals most to you."

Lyra set her mostly empty cup on the table, looking somewhat troubled. "Lady Shikieiki..."

"Just 'Shiki' will do. Far less hassle." The yama said brightly.

"Very well, Lady Shiki," Lyra continued, gripping her hands together tightly. "I... I want to return to Gensokyo."

Shikieki's smile didn't disappear, but it seemed to switch from bright to regretful in a heartbeat. The yama nodded in understanding.

"I am aware of why you would want to," Shikieki said quietly, her smile now disappearing. "Something is happening in Gensokyo. A powerful entity is stirring trouble there, and I cannot interfere with living matters."

"So you understand why I need to return!" Lyra said hopefully. "I need to protect the others!"

Shikieiki sighed regretfully. "My apologies, Miss Daidouji... but you have already crossed the _Sanzu No Kawa. _Once you have done that, any chance of returning to life is lost forever."

Lyra was frozen,stunned by those words. An eternity seeemd to pass before she slowly rose to her feet, staring between the Yamaxanadu and the shinigami, who looked somewhat guilty.

"But... She told me I could reincarnate..." Lyra mumbled, pointing her hand limply to the shinigami.

"Yes, _reincarnate_. As in - be reborn as a newborn, a new person," Shikieiki explained gently. "You wouldn't return to your old body, or a similar one." A sigh from the Yamaxanadu. "Komachi should have told you straight away."

Komachi set her cup and saucer down, an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry, but you said 'reincarnate', so I assumed..."

Lyra wanted to slap the shinigami for her mistake, for screwing over any chance of revival, but she kept the anger within, tried to calm down. After all, it was Lyra herself who mispoke, right? She couldn't blame Komachi for that...

"It's not a healthy habit to keep your frustrations bottled up." Shiki advised, getting to her feet. She stared at Lyra sympathetically as she merely slumped in her seat, looking thoroughly dejected.

"Miss Daidouji... there are rules that I am bound by, laws that should be kept," Shiki began. "To break them would disturb the natural order... however, I believe you can help your mistress from this side."

Lyra's eyes flicked to the Yamaxanadu's face, her eyes showing intrigue and hesitant hope.

"It is perhaps not the ideal method, but if you wish to ensure her safety..." Shikieki continued.

"If it'll help Christina and the others, I'll do anything!" Lyra vowed immediately, sitting straighter. "Please, tell me what to do!"

Shiki smiled gently. "I have to warn you, I suspect that it may be unexpectedly dangerous, and I'm not exactly sure of the situation myself. Will you still go?"

Lyra didn't hesitate. She immediately accepted to help. After all, if it meant that she could help them...

"Thank you, Miss Daidouji," Shiki replied gratefully. "I wouldn't ask if I could spare a moment myself, but the dead keep on coming, and I believe you're capable enough."

"Just call me Lyra." The maid smiled brightly, feeling renewed and invigorated. sure, she wasn't being revived, but if she was still useful to her loved ones...

"Komachi will take you where you need to go," Shiki explained. "And, here's what I want you to do..."

* * *

><p><strong>Hakurei Shrine, Morning<strong>

The sun had only begun to creep back into its rightful place atop the skies of Gensokyo when the Hakurei shrine's strangely sick shrine maiden blinked her eyes open. Oddly enough, Reimu didn't feel sick in the slightest. If anything, she was brimming with energy she wasn't aware she had. Was her power returning in bulk? Well, whatever it was, it was going to prevent her falling back asleep...

Sitting up, Reimu glanced around the darkened room. Shujiko and Marisa lay nearby, their positions and lack of bed clothes suggesting they had fallen asleep watching over her.

_Huh, I must have really worried everyone... _Reimu wondered, recalling that weird bout of extreme pain from the previous night. Just what exactly was happening to her? Collapses, loss and regaining of her strength... And at the time when she was really needed too! She had to get to the bottom of this.

There was a light scraping noise from behind. Glancing over her shoulder, Reimu looked for the source. All that was there was a small drawer with a small sake cup.

And the sake cup shifted slightly before her eyes.

Quickly springing to her feet, Reimu's heart began to race as she scanned the room for any source of the movement. Had it been her imagination?

Reimu watched the sake cup closely, waiting for it to move again. This time, it wasn't the cup, but the drawer that shook ever so slightly.

_What the hell?_ Reimu wondered. Was there a spirit in her shrine? Well, she really couldn't be bothered with poltergeist's right now.

Reimu made to wake up up Marisa and Shujiko and warn them of some stupid spirit trying to be a pest, but a chilly gust of wind temporarily froze her to the spot.

_Come on, it's not that bad... _Reimu chastised herself. After all, she had experience with pesky ghosts before. This was just being an annoying little-

"**I have you now,**_** Hakurei**_!" a demonic voice grumbled in her ear, feeling a hand grip her left shoulder. Reimu shrieked loudly and wildly swung her arm around in a desperate attempt to beat back the hellspawn. The sudden movement caused her to lose her footing and fall onto the lap of Shujiko, who grunted and shifted, mumbling something incoherent.

"Uh? Whoz'it there..." Shujiko mumbled blearily, her hand finding Reimu's hair and began stroking clumsily. "Oh, therez yoo ish, good night..."

Reimu scrambled from the snoozing youkai's grip as Marisa began to stir, disturbed by the noise. A hearty laugh filled the room as Reimu tried to calm her nerves, looking for the source of that annoying and... familiar laugh?

"Pathetic, truly pathetic! Have you seriously become such a horrible weakling in my absence?" The voice mocked. "At least my star pupil never crapped her panties at every little whisper!"

"... No." Reimu muttered in disbelief. "It... it can't be..."

"Can't it, now?" The voice asked. "And why not? Did you really think I would erase myself permanently for your benefit?"

Marisa, now wide awake, leaped to her feet, ecastatic. "Are you really here, ze?" Marisa asked loudly.

"Maybe~" The voice said teasingly, and a blue-robed figure shimmered into sight before them. Wide eyed, Reimu and Marisa watched as the green-haired spirit smirked at the girls, arms folded.

"Miss me?" Mima asked with a laugh.

Marisa stepped forward slowly, disbelieving relief etched on her face as she reached out to 'touch' her former master.

Her hand predictably fazed through Mima's ephemeral arm, but the slight chill was enough to convince Mima that she wasn't seeing things.

"...Took you long enough." Marisa muttered, now grinning widely.

Reimu stepped closer to the ghost, eyes narrowed as she studied Mima.

"So, how've you two been?" Mima asked the girls, glancing at Shujiko. "And who's that? Marisa, did you get a harem going in my absence?"

"Huh? Nah!" Marisa laughed. "Don't you remember her? You laser'd her when we were going to save Reimu!"

Mima gave the girl another thoughtful glance, and shrugged. "Did I? Hm..." Mima finally noticed that Reimu was still glaring at her, and grinned teasingly at the miko.

"What? I know I'm beautiful and all, but you've never admired me so blatantly before."

"It was you that messed me up, wasn't it?" Reimu asked calmly.

"Pardon?"

"The last few days, I've been dropping to the ground and feeling like my brain's trying to explode," Reimu explained. "And, just last night it was at its worst. Was that you trying to bust out of me?"

Mima gave her a confused look, then began to glide around the room in thought.

"Maybe," Mima eventually answered. "Could have been a side effect or something... Restoring my existence isn't something I normally do, so the full details are lost on me at the moment."

The door to Reimu's room slid open, and Tara stepped inside, already dressed in one of her yukata's. Spotting Reimu on her feet, she immediately rushed to her side.

"Reimu! You shouldn't be up so quickly! You might..." Tara glanced upwards, noticing Mima's presence, and her jaw dropped in shock.

"Now you..." Mima said to Tara. "Are actually familiar. I take it Reimu's went and befriended you lot, then?"

"What's with all the noise? Are you lot trying to bother Lady Reimu?" Genji grumbled, lumbering into the room. Seeing Mima was also present, he nearly choked on is surprise. "Y-y-you?"

Mima rolled her eyes. "Yes, me. Seriously, why are you all surprised? My return wasn't exactly as I planned, but still..."

Everyone else present in the shrine had awoken and come to investigate the source of the noise. Each one displaying varying levels of shock. Shujiko was the last to notice, arising from whatever dream she was having when everyone had gathered into the little room.

"Um, did something happen?" The will youkai asked nervously, hoping it wasn't related to Reimu's sudden death.

Mima merely sighed and folded her arms, looking at the varied ensemble. From the looks of things, just about everyone from the last incident Mima witnessed was here, as well as a resident of Makai and... Yuuka Kazami's gate keeper?

"What odd company, Hakurei," Mima noted. "I never knew you were so sociable."

"That's not exactly it," Reimu said stiffly. "I guess we need to fill you in on what you missed."

* * *

><p>Mima listened to the story in silence, from Shujiko's assault up to the attack on a mansion within the forest, looking shocked but keeping her tongue. Somehow, the great spriit seemed to pale at the mention of Artimus' name. When Reimu and Marisa had finished filling her in, Mima swept her gaze across everyone within the shrine. The Daidouji's had a sorrowful, yet determined aura to them. The gate keeper also.<p>

"And I think that guy knows you, ze," Marisa added. "He sounded like you were familiar with each other. Was that true?"

Mima nodded slowly, brow furrowed. "Yes, I suppose it is... we were acquianted at least."

"The hell were you doing, hanging out with that guy?" Reimu demanded to know.

"_Evil _Spirit, Hakurei," Mima sighed impatiently. "Yes, we have a history together, but don't expect a huge, tragic tale of hatred and redemption out of it. There isn't much to say."

Marisa tilted her head slightly. "Well, what is there to say about it?"

Mima thought on that for a few moments. There wasn't a whole lot worth mentioning. After all, back when Mima was haunting villages in the outside world, she had a sort of rivalry with the man. She would always try and cause more disruption and chaos than he did, and even Yuuka Kazami joined in on that occasionally. Then Mima put a stop to those habits and came to Gensokyo. There was a hell of a lot more to it than that, but Mima would rather not dwell on such a rough patch of her spiritual life. It was too painful.

"Somehow, Artimus got into Gensokyo, and is now trying to up-end the whole place..." Mima sighed. "Don't know who his friends are, but I'll assume they're just as dangerous?"

"Um, one of them's a feral youkai that's really good at dodging danmaku, but she's been fairly easy to beat so far." Shujiko pointed out, realising how she seemed to be the only one so far to be thoroughly incapitated by the feral youkai. She chalked that up to surprise and hoped a second round was much more in her favour. "And the other one... uh..."

"Seems completely random," Marisa continued for her. "Rena said she was pretty weak up until the illusions, yet she might have been the one to kill Lyra. And Sakuya told me that China was apparently brutalising her... Especially after more of her illusion bull shit, ze." Her tone became far more bitter at that statement, and Anya had a fleeting sense of guilt, seeing as her main power was deeply related to illusions.

Mima looked deep in thought for a moment, "Hm... Have you seen any other displays of power?"

Elly nodded her head, "She... I recall her being rather fast. And when she fought Master Yuuka, she turned the whole sky dark and flung a meteor that even Master couldn't fully defend from."

"... What," Reimu and Marisa stated the shrine maiden continued with, "It never occurred to you to mention she could do that?"

"Maybe she can't," Mima informed them, beginning to pace the room. Well, float, since Mima was physically incapable of pacing. "Her random displays of competence... it sounds like an ability Artimus developed long ago."

Mima turned to face the whole group, her expression serious. "If it's anything like I remember, this 'dynamic power' Artimus made will instantly match the caster's power to that of their opponent. If the opponent is weaker, then it's useless. Against stronger opponents, it can be devastating, especially since it's unexpected."

"I guess that makes sense..." Alice muttered. "But what if she were to face more than one opponent?"

"Then it simply doesn't work," Mima shrugged. "It was never his greatest invention, really. If he hasn't upgraded it, then we're lucky."

Tara glanced at her mistress, who looked rather pale as she stared at Mima. "Mistress?"

",,, We counted as two opponents, didn't we?" Christina asked, gaze downcast. "That's why we were winning at first... and we... we..."

Tara realised where this was going and immediately pulled her closer for a hug. She began to pat her head as Christina began to shake.

"It's not your fault," Tara reminded her. "You couldn't possibly have known. Please, don't cry, be a strong girl for Lyra, hm?"

Christina nodded, and Tara released her. After a moment, a hardened determination flashed in her eyes.

"Sorry... I promise, I won't be a liability." Christina vowed to everyone, her tone resolute.

"I'll kick his ass for sure anyway, so I don't see a problem." Reimu shrugged, and Mima gave her a calculating and amused look.

"Will you now?" Mima muttered, arms folded within the sleeves of her robe. "Hakurei,. are you aware of Artimus' power? He used to spar with Yuuka for fun, y'know."

Reimu snorted and replied, "Yeah, and guess who I beat a few years back? Besides, I've picked up a few new tricks in the last two months!"

Mima raised her eyebrows. "Oh? and those tricks are?"

"'Fantasy Heaven'," Reimu replied confidently. "I could just turn invisible and invincible at the same time, for as long as I want! Now that you aren't screwing with my strength, I can finally end that bastard's attacks!"

The green and blue spirit gave Reimu a calculating look, before replying, "You're sounding a tad arrogant, there. I find myself doubting your claims."

"Actually, I think she_ can _keep it up forever, ze." Marisa chimed in, somewhat grudgingly.

"See?" Reimu said smugly.

Mima simply shrugged. "Fine, but Artimus is still immensely powerful. Someone like you may not even be able to scratch him."

"Do I have to say it again? I've beaten Yuuka, I can beat Artimus too!" Reimu insisted, and suddenly found herself face to face with a rather angry spirit.

"Beating someone who never took you seriously doesn't mean you're a match," Mima hissed dangerously, glaring at Reimu fiercely. "Yes, you're incredibly powerful, but you're still just a mere human. All it would take is one spell, and that's it. You. Are. Dead."

Reimu blinked silently for a few moments, before returning the spirits glare with of her own. "You saying I couldn't beat either of them, Mima?"

"Not as you are." Mima said, earning a brief, confused look from Reimu, who quickly returned to glaring.

"And what about you, huh? I bet you think you can take him!"

Mima hesitated in her reply. In truth, she may not be able to win, even if the full power of the moon was behind her. Yuuka barely ever tried in any of the scuffles they'd once had, and although Mima had never fought Artimus, his exploits and battles with Yuuka were well known. Well, at least the fights that didn't have one of them at an enormous advantage.

"Honestly, I'd fare better," Mima finally said. "But I'd rather have let Yuuka have her way with him." The spirit glanced in Elly's direction. "Although, it seems we have to take a different option."

Glowering, Reimu said, "And that 'option' is me! Since when were you in doubt of my power, huh? Since when have I ever actually lost to 'Fabled Gods of Extreme Divineness'?"

Shujiko cleared her throat, distracting everyone from the argument. When they all had their gaze directed at her, the will youkai said, "Perhaps we should fight him together? Surely he can't be strong enough to fight all of us? It may even be overkill."

Alice nodded in agreement. "Frankly, I don't know why you insist that fighting him must be a solo affair. Strength in numbers, after all."

"Yes, together, we have a chance." Tara added.

Mima glanced at everyone within the shrine, frowning slightly. "While that may be the preferred scenario, there's still the matter of the hardest hitters-" Mima's eyes darted between Reimu and Marisa, "-Being too frail to last long, and everyone else simply lacking the strength to do much."

Christina lowered her head slightly, feeling as if she were the sole reason they may not be strong enough, while various others looked rankled at being called 'weak'. Reimu was especially bothered with the 'frail' remark.

"Fantasy. Heaven," Reimu repeated. "It practically grants me immortality! Why can't you understand that!"

"Then show me." Mima replied, and Reimu nodded. Retrieving her Hakurei Orb, Reimu took a stance as the orb began to gravitate around her.

Drawng upon the energies within the sphere, Reimu felt its strength course through her body. Clapping her hands together, Reimu cried out, 'Fantasy Heaven!'

Nothing happened. Everyone watched in surprise as Reimu remained very much visible and solid. Frowning, Reimu tried to cast the spell again, to no avail.

"Amazing," Mima commented in a deadpan manner. "Artimus has no chance of hitting you _now_, Hakurei."

"You. cannot. Be. Serious," Reimu muttered in surprise, quickly given way to frustration. "First I'm constantly side lined, now my friggin' _powers_ refuse to work?"

"Then it's as I suspected," Genji noted with a sigh. "That 'Fantasy Heaven' of yours must have been available to you only through Mima. It was a remarkably ghost-like quality, after all."

Reimu shook her head furiously, "Nuh-uh! I don't need Mima to cast it! Watch!"

Again, Reimu tried to activate her spell. Again, it didn't work. The shrine maiden's face grew redder as she concentrated as hard as she could on blinking from existence.

"... Reimu, you probably shouldn't force yourself," Shujiko eventually said. "Maybe you're still a _little_ tired, it'll come back to you."

"Either way, you're in no fit state to fight Artimus," Mima reiterated. "At least not alone. But I don't want any of you to recklessly attack him, okay? We'll need some time to build our strength."

"... Hey Mima, just how strong is Artimus, exactly?" Marisa asked. "You say he's Yuuka-tier, but is that it? Not beyond or anything unfair like that, ze?"

Mima glanced at her ex-apprentice thoughtfully. "Well, it's hard to judge exactly. Like Kazami, he's gained immense strength through sheer age. He's probably a force of nature in his own right."

"Do we have a chance then?" Tara asked, drumming her fingers nervously over her knee.

"Duh. You've got me on your team now!" Mima said boldly, now wearing a large, confident smirk. "I'd rather wait until a full moon to rip him apart, but the vamp'll probably cause trouble."

"Mistress says you should leave Flandre to her." A new voice came from the entrance. Everyone turned to greet the speaker, who turned out to be the Scarlet Devil Mansion's gate keeper, entering the shrine.

Surprise in her voice, Marisa said, "China? What're you doing here?"

Meiling, who's injuries had more or less healed over nicely, stepped forward, her usually drowsy or cheerful expression replaced with a stoic one. "My mistress wants to cooperate with Reimu Hakurei in order to defeat Artimus. As you no doubt know, he attacked and abducted Flandre."

"Well, I'm fine with cooperation, so long as she doesn't tell me to stay out of the fights," Reimu huffed, earning a surprised stare from Meiling.

"What Moody McChild _meant _to say was 'sure, why the hell not?'" Mima replied.

Meiling nodded in appreciation before continuing, "Furthermore, she asks if you would leave Flandre only to us."

"What if she attacks someone, and you guys aren't there?" Tara asked the gate keeper. "I won't stand by and watch just to make sure I don't scratch her."

"Obviously, you should defend youself and others," Meiling replied, rolling her eyes, "But Mistress would rather be the one to bring her back."

"Fine," Mima said simply. "Well, is that all... 'China'?"

Meiling nodded, and stared at Reimu for a few seconds, who asked, "What?"

"Nothing," Meiling said aplogetically, "It's just... I feel relieved, knowing that you and Kirisame are willing to help. I think we have a chance of getting Flandre back."

Reimu and Marisa glanced at each, slightly surprised. Marisa began to grin widely, and Reimu, despite her mood found herself grining back.

Turning back to Meiling, the witch proudly claimed, "Not to worry, China! With our help, Flandre will be back in your basement in no time at all, ze!"

"... Right, thanks I guess..." Meiling replied, not really liking how that sounded at all. Still, they were on the same side now, so Flandre's return was practically assured in Meiling's mind.

"Anyway, I'd best return to the mansion," The gate keeper said, but was quickly stopped by Marisa.

"Hold it! Any word on Patchy?"

Meiling glanced back at her, a look of guilt crossing her face.

"She woke up around dawn," Meiling informed her. "She's fine, but taking a while to heal."

Marisa breathed a small sigh of relief. "Awesome. I'll go visit her later."

Nodding, Meiling exited the shrine, taking to the sky and flying back towards the mansion.

Mima watched her go, smirking slightly. "... So, Marisa, why'd they name her after a country?"

"Huh?" Marisa looked confused at the question." You mean China? That's what everyone else called her."

"Ah, you don't get it then," Mima shrugged. "No matter. So, on our side we have that vampire and her crew? Could be worse, I suppose."

* * *

><p><strong>Scarlet Devil Mansion, Roughly Same Time<strong>

"It could be worse?" Remilia repeated with raised eyebrows, staring at the small, injured person lying in the comically oversized bed. Despite the breathing mask and a number of intrusive doo-dads and sharp things jabbed at what looked like random areas to Remilia, Patchouli was already reading casually.

"Yep, much worse," Patchouli repeated non-chalantly, flipping a page, her eyes never leaving the book. "I could be dead, for a start."

Remilia shook her head in disbelief. "You sure take pummelings well. Can't say I ever expected that.

"Just because I'm willing to think positively about it doesn't mean it didn't hurt like a bitch," Patchouli replied, and received a snicker from the vampire.

"That's honestly the first time I think I've heard you curse. Maybe you took a head injury?"

Patchouli briefly glanced at Remilia, then returned to her book. "Quite possible, I'll look into that immediately."

"It's called a joke, Patchy, you don't take them seriously." Remilia said.

"China used me as a punching bag, I might as well play it safe," Patchouli shrugged.

Sakuya entered the room at that moment, holding the box of spell cards. Approaching Patchouli, Sakuya held them out for the ailing elementalist to see. "Here they are, Patchy. But are you sure you should be-"

"Yes," Patchouli gently closed the book and placed it at her side, reaching out for the box. The short magician didn't open it though, instead studying the box.

After a moment, Patchouli commented, "Well, I can sense vast amounts of power emanating from these cards. Black magic, highly destructive."

"Impressive work, Patchy," Remilia complimented. "You can tell all that without even needing to scan them?"

"No, that's all blatantly obvious for a man like him," Patchouli said. Seeing Reimilia's surprised expression, she rolled her eyes and said, "It's a joke. Don't take it seriously."

"Very funny," Remilia sighed. "Now, anything else you can find out..?"

Patchouli held the box back out to Sakuya, who took it from her hands. "Not right now. Still too tired to consider investigating fully, although there is one oddity I noticed."

Remilia and Sakuya nodded, listening to what Patchouli had to say.

"Those spells... they're unlike any magic I've witnessed," Patchouli murmured. "Well, the _spells_ are what I've seen before, but the _source_..."

Remilia and Sakuya gave each other a confused look, but before they could enquire further Patchouli began to cough. As if waiting for this moment, Koakuma burst through the door, arms laden with various medicines.

"I'm here! I got everything you need!" The devil familiar cried, setting the stuff down on a far table and rushing to her master's side with one of the treatments.

With Koakuma's help, Patchouli's coughing and wheezing subsided. Muttering a word of thanks, Patchouli replaced the mask and leaned back into the pilows.

"Sorry, we'll need to discuss this another time. I feel sleepy."

"Very well," Remilia and Sakuya left the room, leaving Koakuma to tend to Patchouli. As the two walked down the corridor, Sakuya asked Remilia a question.

"Mistress, you say you want to be the one to bring Flandre back... how do you plan to do so?"

Remilia didn't answer immediately, merely continuing to walk through the corridors towards her study. Eventually, the vampire said, "Honestly, I have no idea. Without any real knowledge on his magic, I fear trying to counter it."

"But you will find a way," Sakuya reassured. "After all, nothing is impossible for you, milady."

Remilia smiled slightly at that, sitting at her desk with her head propped up on a fist. "Yes... you're right, Sakuya. If I wish it, Flandre will return to my side, safe and hungry for vengeance."

Sakuya nodded in agreement. Artimus might be monstrously strong, but there was no doubt in her mind that Flandre would be saved. That was Remilia's desire, that was the fated course.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes, Separate Time from Fic<strong>

**Firstly, I apologise this took so long. This chapter was surprisingly difficult to write. I was dreading writing every time I bothered to get around to it... plus I had a holiday to go to.**

**Secondly, I apologise if this chapter is much worse than usual. I was trying to get this chapter over with quickly so I could go back to enjoying writing this story. Hopefully without any more big delays.**

**Thirdly, Lyra's portion was the only part I wasn't struggling desperately to write. Probably because of what it'll eventually lead to, but maybe getting a chance to write Shiki helped.**

**Again, sorry for the delay and most-likely crappy chapter. I'll try and pick it up again.**

**... After some Touhou Hearts.**


	14. Chapter 14 Recall and Retrieve

"Don't ever give up, no matter what! You can do it!" Shujiko cried in support.

Breathing heavily, Reimu gasped for breathe, before taking up a stance again. "F-Fantasy... Heaven!"

Again, nothing happened, much to Reimu's dismay. The bullets were flying in fast, and Reimu was forced to evade them normally. This had been going on non-stop for some time, at Reimu's insistence. Shujiko provided the barrage of bullets to simulate 'danger', and Reimu would attempt to re-learn Fantasy Heaven in a dire situation.

"You almost had it there!" Shujiko cheered. "Maybe one more will do the trick!"

Reimu had initially wanted someone else to povide the help, seeing as Shujiko should still be recovering, but she just wouldn't stop begging to help. Eventually, Reimu relented, but made the will youkai promise to take it easy.

Below, at the Hakurei Shrine, Alice sat and watched, although her mind was elsewhere. With Mima's return, morale was raised, as well as an opportunity. Alice needed to talk with the spirit, but not in front of anyone else... well, Marisa already knew of her business with Mima, so there was no harm in letting her hear, but no one else needed to know of her fears.

But talking to the spirit was proving difficult. Mainly because she was nowhere to be found. Marisa had no idea where she had went, but didn't seem too worried. She was Mima, after all. It wasn't like she was in any danger of being killed, for several reasons.

Still, it was pretty aggravating. What was Mima doing anyway, just up and disappearing on them like that?

"Aren't you getting bored watching Red fail, ze?" Marisa asked from behind. Alice didn't respond, instead gazing at Reimu's desperate attempts to regain her technique. Marisa took a seat next to Alice, glancing up at Reimu's and Shujiko's training session for a moment before continuing. "You wanna talk to Miss Mima, huh?"

"... You remembered." Alice commented.

"'Course I did! I also recall saying I'd help you out with that phobia of yours!" Marisa laughed.

"Not so loud, please," Alice sighed. The others didn't seem to hear, at least. "Well, thank you for that."

Grinning, Marisa replied, "What's the thanks for, ze?" Might as well wait until we actually get 'round to dealing with it."

"Still, it's nice to know you care." Alice said quietly, dropping her gaze.

"Well, I thought friends were supposed to do that? Help each other and stuff, ze," Marisa shrugged. "So it's no biggie. Besides, at least it means you'll owe me big time when this is all over."

An amused smile crept across Alice's expression as she glanced at her fellow witch. "...Hmph, figures that was all you wanted. I should have known."

"Well, I won't ask for _too_ much in return," A grinning Marisa replied, leaning closer. Alice felt her face grow slightly hotter, and hoped it wasn't showing. What was Marisa doing now?

"There's something of yours that I would really, really love to have as my own." Marisa continued in a quiet, almost alluring voice. The black-white witch was leaning closer and closer, and Alice was rooted to the spot, eyes wide. Was this really happening? Now? In front of everyone?

_Keep calm, stay composed. It's just Marisa messing with your head._ Alice told herself. "A-and what would that be, Marisa?"

Marisa grinned wide, her face almost touching Alice's. "I want... your gr-"

"Marisa! How could you?" A new voice suddenly interrupted the proceedings, startling the two. Whirling their heads around, they saw a shocked Anya standing before them, with a curious Christina nearby.

"You were going to kiss... you... but, what about Reimu?" Anya demanded, looking apalled.

While Alice faced away to hide the blush that was rising, Marisa got to her feet to confront Anya. "What about Reimu? And who said we were kissing, ze?"

"I clearly saw it!"

"'Clearly'? Did you forget that your vision sucks?" Marisa challenged.

"That's just the one eye! And I know what I saw!" Anya countered, glaring at the witch.

Tara emerged from the kitchen, looking confused. "Uh, girls? What's the problem?"

Immediately, Anya turned to face the older woman. "Tara, Marisa's cheating on Reimu in broad daylight!"

Raising an eyebrow, Tara glanced at Marisa. "... You were a couple?"

"Hell no!" Marisa vehemently denied. "When did you all get that impression, ze?"

"Around the time I heard Genji mention it," Christina admitted thoughtfully. It seemed she was making an effort to return to her old self, which seemed to be working. "Well, more along the lines of 'they'd best admit it to each other so I can work out an adoption plan for this shrine's succesor'."

"...Did he now?" Reimu sighed, having descended after hearing the yelling. Shujiko followed close behind, looking greatly interested in the discussion at hand. "Well, maybe I need to remind that old fart that Marisa is the worst life partner ever."

Marisa rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Thanks for the back up there, Reimu. Tell everyone I suck, why don't ya?"

"I would, but no one's interested in your services," Reimu replied with a small smirk.

Trying to block out the sounds of ensuing verbal chaos that followed, Alice sighed and stared at the entrance to the shrine's grounds. It was nice that they weren't brooding over the problem of Artimus, but did they have to be so damn noisy and immature about it?

* * *

><p>"Huh, I got the strangest feeling that I was mentioned," Genji said thoughtfully as he leisurely glided along the paths of the village. Elly walked alongside him, scythe propped against her shoulder as she marched.<p>

"Aren't you supposed to sneeze when that happens?" Elly asked.

"In my experience, sneezing upon mention means you're about to befall terrible luck," Genji replied. "I guess this means we won't be running into trouble, after all."

Elly had decided to go shopping for supplies in order to accomodate the insanely large population of heads now taking shelter. Genji had offered to join, seeing as he tended to carry most of the stuff Reimu bought anyway. This village, the closest to the shrine, was left untouched by Artimus and his associates, but every villager was on edge, looking for anyone they felt would bring ruin upon them like the other villages. Elly hadn't missed the suspicious stares thrown her way, but being in Genji's presence must have alleviated their fears somewhat.

Now, with several bags of shopping strapped to Genji's shell, the two were making their way back slowly, on the lookout for anyone that may show signs of hostility. It was unlikely, but there may be someone in this village tainted by Artimus' power the same way Meira had.

"Looks like he's not too active at the moment..." Elly observed, and Genji nodded.

"He seems to be biding his time. I suspect Artimus will make a move once night falls, though."

_Right, the vampire..._ Elly thought. She didn't know a whole lot about Flandre, except that she had lots of power and was apparently quite unstable, to the point that her own sister locked her in the basement. That couldn't be an effective counselling tactic, but maybe that was the best that could be done.

"Not to worry though. There are plenty of us who can defeat her," Genji added. "And if those other girls are with her... well, we have the advantage in numbers, plus one of them will be powerless in group fight."

"I know..." Elly sighed. "But that still leaves Artimus himself."

"Artimus will fall," Genji promised, turning his head to look at the gate keeper. "Everything has a weakness, no matter how powerful they may be."

Elly snorted, smiling slightly. "Oh? You're saying my master has a weakness?"

"Of course!" Genji chuckled. "I've certainly obtained enough information to know that much about her."

"Then what is it?"

Genji smirked, clearly amused. "Are you even aware?"

Elly snorted again, now using her scythe as a makeshift cane as they travelled. "Obviously, my master is invulnerable! Nothing will keep her down!" Of course Elly was exaggerating, what with Yuuka's current predicament, but Elly never stopped seeing her as an invincible force of nature regardless.

"There are other ways to defeat an opponent than mere brute strength," Genji pointed out, and Elly looked at him questioningly. "Honestly, child, how can you not know? It's _you_."

The gate keeper tilted her head in confusion. "... Me?"

"Yes," Genji rolled his eyes, surprised that he even had to explain it. "You and Yuuka are close, right? People may see her as a feral youkai or a sadistic creature, but your dedication must surely be reciprocated."

Genji faced forward again, the shrine's towering stone staircase now within sight. "If anyone were to hurt you, it would be akin to hurting Yuuka herself."

Elly pondered in silence for a few moments. That turtle was... pretty perceptive, she decided. The blonde girl wondered if that was true. Would Yuuka really be so affected if she were hurt? She tried to recall a time where Yuuka acted protective or motherly, but nothing significant came to mind. Well, Yuuka _did_ provide for her, cared for her, and master _did_ like to treat her sometimes... then again, that hadn't always been a joyous experience...

* * *

><p>Groaning softly, Elly's eyes fluttered open, clearly confused. Her head felt like it was rattled and filled with thick fog. What exactly happened? The young girl could very vaguely recall fainting... and being terrified beyond comprehension. But why? She'd never hated rats<em> that <em>much...

As Elly tried to remember what happened, she began to realise that wherever she was lying, it wasn't her bed. Whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn't a straw-filled mattress.

Bolting to an upright position, Elly stared fearfully at the room around her. Where the hell was she? This room was big and lavish, like how she imagined nobility or royalty lived. Completely unlike her farm house. And where where her parents...?

Elly gasped as the memories flooded back. Statues, solitiude, the green haired woman...

The door opened suddenly, and Elly huddled into the bed, covers nearly completely wrenched over her head. _It's her! The crazy killer! Mummy, daddy! Please, help me!_

"Huh, didn't think you'd be awake already," The woman said casually. Elly fearfully peeked at the green haired woman, who had clothing draped over an arm. Recognising them, Elly lifted the blankets slightly to look at herself, fresh horror crossing her face when she saw that not a stitch of clothing was worn.

The woman giggled at Elly's expression, and laid the clothes on the bed. "Relax, child, all I did was wash these. You left them in quite an embarrassing mess when you fell asleep."

Elly's mouth shuddered as she tried to form words, but only made tiny, incomprehensible squeaks. The woman raised an eyebrow as she tried to discern what was being said.

"I speak many languages, child, but I'm afraid that whatever tongue you speak is completely foreign to me," The woman said with slight amusement in her voice. "Surely English would be your first language?"

Gulping, Elly finally managed to say something somewhat coherent. "...It... you did it... why?"

"Did what?" the black-clad woman asked innocently.

"You... made everyone into statues..." Elly whispered, feeling tears ready to burst forth. "...P-please, make them b-b-b-better."

The green-haired woman looked surprised at the statement, and looked at the girl for a second before laughing. Elly flinched at the sound. It was like listening to the cackle of a mad witch. It chilled her very soul.

"_I_ did it?" The woman laughed. "Oh, that wasn't me that stoned those humans, that was a friend of mine! Clearly, he hasn't perfected that little spell of his yet."

The crazy woman now seated herself at the edge of the bed, causing Elly to huddle further away, desperately pulling the covers with her in an attempt to hide her body. With a wide, creepy grin, the woman glanced at Elly, saying, "It is quite rare for youkai to live among humans, though. Any reason why?"

Elly only looked at her in confusion. 'Youkai'? What the hell did that mean?

Seeing the expression, the crazy woman erupted into a fresh fit of giggles. She clutched her sides as she laughed, only scaring Elly further.

"Oh, you can't be serious!" She howled. "You really didn't know? How old are you?"

When Elly didn't answer, the woman stopped laughing and gave Elly a penetrating gaze. "I believe I just asked you for your age, child."

"E-e-e-leven!" Elly stuttered, wishing with all her being that the woman would disappear forever and let her go home.

"Really? Hm, guess you're still a baby," The green haired woman muttered thoughtfully. "Still, you should have enhanced strength or something, right? Anything to set you apart from others?"

Elly, who had always displayed a level of strength and stamina usually seen in teenagers, merely whimpered. Why couldn't that woman go away? Why did she have to get kidnapped? What was going to happen?

"Hm... Ah, maybe you're more familiar with 'monster'..." The crazy woman muttered thoughtfully to herself, before shrugging. "Well, you're with your own kind now, at least!" The woman said cheerfully, clapping her hands. "Feel free to use this room until I've finished with my studies."

The young girl was now more confused than ever. So she was a guest now? And what 'studies' was this woman conducting?

"I... I want to go home..." Elly whispered, hardly daring to hope she would be permitted to.

"Go home to what?" The woman asked, sounding rather surprised. "Everyone's an ornament now. All dead. Moved on. Will never see them again. That makes you an orphan. Free pickings."

Those words were more painful than any physical blow Elly had ever felt, and probably ever would. Reeling, Elly stared at the crazy woman in wide eyed shock.

"What, you didn't really think there was a way to help them, did you?" The woman snorted and shook her head. "Silly child, how do you save someone who's very essence was transformed into an inanimate object?"

Elly buried her face in her hands and began to sob. It couldn't be true, could it...? Her parents, friends, the villagers... all gone forever?

"Stop that at once!" The woman suddenly snapped, and Elly flinched once again, surprised at how harsh and cold she suddenly sounded. Shaking, Elly watched, teary eyed, as the woman got to her feet and stepped closer to Elly's position, her eyes practically crimson slits.

The woman's gaze bore deep into Elly's wet eyes, and that only seemed to make her angrier. "... Why do you do that to me?"

Elly was too confused, too afraid to respond.

"It's not right... why do only you make me pause?" The woman muttered mostly to herself. She raised a hand, as if to strike Elly, who backed up to the wall, raising her hands to fend off any blows. But they never came.

Instead, the woman had clenched her fist as it shook, as if she were fighting an invisible force that stayed her hand. Finally deciding to relent, the woman turned her heel and began to leave, stopping at the door.

"You will stay in my manor from now on," The woman ordered without looking back. "You will be my new servant, and will refer to me as 'Master Kazami'. You will obey my every command and follow my every whim from now until death. Now, get dressed and familiarise yourself with the house."

And with that, Kazami left, leaving Elly to ponder her fate, before breaking down into tears again. So she was now to be that witch's servant? Why? Why couldn't she just kill her and end it all? How was she to live knowing that everyone she ever cared about was dead?

Elly didn't know how long she cried, but she didn't care. Why care? It's not like anything good was waiting for her now. She was a prisoner to a psychotic witch. And... did that woman call _her _a monster?

Eventually, Elly slowly clambered from the large, fancy bed. She might as well get dressed at least. Like hell she would remain naked around that freak.

Once she was fully dressed, Elly glanced fearfully at the door, wondering what the rest of this house was like. Would it look normal? Would it be a hellish location that could break minds with their structure alone?

Elly's eyes fell to the object propped near the door, and was surprised to find that it was her scythe. Why was that there?

The farmer girl hurried towards the tool and grabbed it. As she did, Elly remembered the last time she used it - slicing that woman's chest and doing absolutely nothing. Her eyes widened when she realised that the witch's chest had completely healed. How long ago did she attack...?

Feeling queasy, Elly stumbled back to the bed and fell upon it, shaking as fresh tears sprung in her eyes.

"... Someone help me..." Elly whispered to the ceiling.

* * *

><p>"Elly! Is something wrong?" Genji's voice snapped Elly back to reality, and she glanced around in confusion, seeing that they had reached the steps that led to the Hakurei Shrine.<p>

Seeing Genji giving her a concerned look, she offered a small smile and replied, "Oh, nothing... it's just, lately I've been remembering trivial things."

"'Trivial'?" Genji repeated thoughtfully. "Can you share some details with me? It may not be as trivial as you believe."

Elly shook her head as she began to ascend the steps. "There's nothing to learn from them. It's just my earliest memories. It has nothing to do with anything."

"...If you say so," Genji said doubtfully, and began to fly after the gate keeper.

_Yeah, nothing to learn._ Elly told herself, not bothering with flight. _...Still, I wish I knew why these memories won't leave my head. Am I doubting Master? No, that can't be it..._

* * *

><p>Looking from side to side, Artimus wondered if Mima would ever arrive. He had went to the trouble of making his presence known, just to attract the spirit's attention, but it seemed like she wasn't arriving.<p>

Floating above a small lake located near some unremarkable mountains, Artimus sighed and wondered what to do next. He would love to talk with Mima, but would rather avoid the shrine. It would be hard to maintain a conversation with multiple enemies attempting to blast him to oblivion.

"Perhaps I might as well stop by..." Artimus muttered with resignation in his voice. Although, just as he was about to leave for the Hakurei Shrine, a sudden rush of magic energy made him stop and immediately block the attack from his right.

A green mist erupted from the cancelled spell, and Artimus noticed a second blast falling from above. Swiftly, he shifted to the side, where he suddenly found himself surrounded by star-shaped danmaku bullets.

"...Aiyaiyai Mima, even Yuuka has a more pleasant way of greeting someone." Artimus grinned.

In response to this, the danmaku converged upon him, with Artimus swiftly dodging each star as they passed. Emerging unscathed, Artimus glanced around him, feeling Mima's presence, but unable to find her. "Hm, I haven't angered you in any way, have I?"

A rumbling sound came from below followed by a large splash, and a quick glance confirmed that a large, pointed geyser had suddenly burst from under the lake and was aiming for him. Artimus easily sidestepped the geyser, where it immediately exploded, sending debris flying everywhere. Artimus merely lifted an arm to protect his face, lowering it when the chunks had passed and fallen back to earth.

"You could say I'm a little bit annoyed at you, yes," Mima spoke, directly behind Artimus. Casually, Artimus turned to face the green-haired spirit, who had her arms folded within the large sleeves of her robe. She wore a small, cold smile as she looked at the latest villain plaguing Gensokyo.

"Ah. Well, I'm sorry to say, but I don't quite know the reason why you would be." Artimus said apologetically.

"My lovely protege tells me you and she had a little run in." Mima reminded him, and recognition sparked in Artimus eyes.

"Oh yes, that girl! Well, I didn't really do anything to her, you know. In fact, I believe your apprentice was the one to unload a Master Spark upon me," He informed the spirit. "Speaking of which, why would she know such a spell?"

Mima merely shrugged. "Guess she liked how it looked. Marisa tends to do that," Mima scoured the surrounding area before adding, "I hear you got yourself a follower or two. Where are they?"

"Babysitting." Artimus chuckled.

* * *

><p>Flandre stared blankly back at Mion and Kathy, who were both glaring intently at the vampire. It had become some sort of staring contest between the three.<p>

_Why in the name of hell do we need to look after her? _Mion wondered bitterly._ What's she gonna do? Cry? Blow the cave up? She won't even breathe unless Artie gives the okay!_

"...You gonna say something?" Mion finally asked to break the silence.

"I have nothing to say." Flandre replied monotonously.

"Oh yeah?" Mion wondered what to say next, and settled with, "... You're ugly."

Flandre didn't really respond, just sat there like a lifeless puppet.

"Uh... no one likes you?" Mion tried, but that proved ineffective for provoking a response as well.

With a sigh of frustration, Mion then said, "Fine, how about 'trampy little freak!'"

"Your attempts to anger me fail miserably," Flandre dully informed Mion, who growled with frustration and raised herself from her seat.

"That's it, you're dead!" Mion growled, cracking her knuckles.

"As a vampire, I am part of the 'undead' group of creatures, and thus am already dead." Flandre replied, and Mion glared hatefully at the little vampire for a long moment, before sighing and falling back to the ground, feeling thoroughly bored. Kat edged closer and nuzzled at Mion, who absent mindedly began to stroke the feral youkai's hair.

"I can't wait until Artimus gets bored of her," Mion sighed.

* * *

><p>"Huh. I get the feeling that I wouldn't like them looking after my kids." Mima said thoughtfully.<p>

"True, they can be quite temperamental." Artimus laughed in agreement.

"Well, anyway..." Mima took on a more serious tone as she studied Artimus. "Seeing as you decided to pop up here, I assume you wanted to see me?"

Artimus nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I was wondering if you'd like to join me?"

Mima stared at Artimus for several long moments, as if unable to comprehend what was just said. Finally, looking like she was trying hard not to laugh, simply said "What?"

"Then again, I suspect that circumstances have arisen, preventing you from ever wanting to associate with the likes of me again," Artimus sighed solemnly. "It's strange. Back in the day, we revelled in the trouble we made, and never would have imagined taking on apprentices of our own. We wouldn't have ever needed such a thing."

Artimus smiled fondly as he reminisced. "But then Yuuka abruptly left for Gensokyo, citing 'love' as her reason for sudenly leaving. Then you too left for here, and it seems that you're no longer the evil spirit I once knew."

"And you yourself, Artie," Mima pointed out. "You've got yourself a lackey now. Funny how things work out, huh?"

Artimus nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Although, I seem to be the only one still doing the old job. Then again, what choice do I have? Unlike you and Yuuka, I_ need _the chaos to live."

Intrigued at this, Mima listened closely. Artimus had always been big on the 'screw order' thing. It didn't matter how polite or 'pacifistic' he acted. The truth was, he probably got off on it even more than Yuuka herself ever did. Not that Mima ever tried to figure out how accurate that was, but for Artimus to_ need _it...?

"Funny, you never mentioned such a thing before, Artimus."

"Hm? Oh, well..." Artimus chuckled. "That wasn't always the case, but... well, I've changed."

"You mean you managed to get stronger?" Mima asked. If that was true, then things were indeed very problematic. Mima figured she had a somewhat decent chance of taking him on if she had access to her full power, but if he had gotten substantially more powerful...

"I suppose," Artimus shrugged non-chalantly. "Not terribly so, I think. It's just that my very existence was altered. I guess addiction is a powerful thing after all." Artimus laughed at his comment.

_Lovely. Can I even fight him at all, then?_ Mima wondered. This was worrisome news, but she didn't let it show. Instead, the spirit merely grinned.

"So, back to your rejected offer; what's gonna happen now?"

"Nothing," Artimus replied. "We'll meet again soon enough, but I can't really be bothered fighting yet."

"Typical..." Mima sighed. "Can you ever get of your ass to do any work? It's a wonder you can scare anything when you can barely bother to slip on a boogeyman mask."

Artimus laughed once again, scratching at the back of his head sheepishly. "Guess I'm a miracle worker too. Well, I suppose we should say our good byes," Artimus took on a more somber look. "And... I suppose I should feel a little saddened. Now that we're most definitely enemies, it's going to be quite painful when I finally deal with you."

"...Overconfident, aren't you?" Mima chided. "You could probably 'rid yourself' of me right now. Ah, but that's too much work."

"I'd rather give you a chance to fight at your best," Artimus replied with a small smile. "You know I'd rather give my old friend a fighting chance."

Mima's face soured. "I'd hardly call us 'friends' Artimus. Besides, you were always too busy being all BFF to Yuuka."

"Jealous?" Artimus asked teasingly, and was rewarded with a bolt of green lightning for his trouble, which was hastily avoided. With another chuckle, he added, "Well, I suppose I'll be off now. Keep an eye out, I'll be around. Good bye, Mima."

And with that, Artimus turned and flew away to whatever hole he had decided to hide in. Mima considered trying to track his location, but ultimately decided against it. Artimus would expect something like that, and any tracking spells would be detected fairly easily by him. And besides, she had been informed that a squad of fairies were on the lookout for him. While Mima doubted how effective a fairy was at recon, it was probably the safer, less unexpected route.

Scowling, Mima merely watched him leave until he was no longer visible. With a sigh, Mima returned to the Hakurei Shrine.

* * *

><p>"... Quite a lot of trouble that guy was, I tell ya," Komachi said to Lyra as they traversed the meadow of the afterlife. "His weird eye thing let him control <em>anyone<em>, even after death! But luckily, Shiki found a loophole in his powers and exploited it brilliantly!"

"That's wonderful," Lyra replied, her mind awash with thoughts on her task.

Komachi glanced over her shoulder to the maid, frowning slightly. The shinigami stopped walking and turned to face her. "Look, I'm sorry I made a mistake, but trust me, being dead's not all bad!"

"Huh?" Lyra gave Komachi a surprised glance, and quickly shook her head. "No, no, I'm not worried about that!"

"You sure?" Komachi didn't sound convinced. "You're absolutely sure you don't feel angry or something?"

Lyra cast her gaze downward. "... Well, I still feel a _little_ angry..."

"A 'little'?" Komachi repeated in disbelief.

"But what's done is done," Lyra continued with a sigh. "Besides, if I can do anything to help them from this side, perhaps it isn't all bad, right?"

Komachi began walking again. "...Yeah, I suppose. Still, it's highly unusual for the Yamaxanadu to request help like this. You sure you'll be okay?"

Lyra smiled confidently at Komachi. "It's just a simple check up, right?"

"I guess, but you are going to be meeting some of the strongest beings ever conceived," Komachi warned. "Of course, none of them are as awesomely strong as Shiki, but the Yama's afraid something's not right. I really wouldn't be surprised if they found an excuse to fight you."

The maid gave Komachi a questioning look. "I heard that wanton battle had become something of a trend in Gensokyo, but to extend that pastime to the afterlife?"

"Hey, maybe I'm just paranoid," Komachi shrugged and laughed nervously. "But, uh... just be careful, 'kay? Try not to piss off Yakumo or her shikigami's. Saigyouji doesn't seem to know how to be insulted, and her gardener's quite overprotective, so..."

Lyra began to giggle, and Komachi looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Sorry, it's just... All my life, I've always been the one giving the warnings. It's a little strange to be on the receiving end." Lyra explained, and Komachi smiled back.

"Heh, I guess you can look after yourself, huh? Ah, here we are."

Lyra hadn't noticed, but they had somehow completely left the meadow, and were instead in some dark place, with a towering staircase leading high into a black void. The only light seemed to be from the staircase itself, which was glowing a dull blue. Surprised, Lyra glanced over her shoulder, seeing no meadow behind her at all. "How did we..."

"Ya gotta climb up there," Komachi pointed, apparently not hearing Lyra's query. "Or fly, probably better. It leads to Hakugyokoru, somewhere in Saigyouji's garden."

Lyra craned her neck to see if there was any indication of a garden anywhere above them. There didn't seem to be.

"Sorry I can't come with, but work and all..." Komachi sighed, clearly unmotivated. "But if I get a spare minute, I'll see if I can't check up on you, okay?"

"There's no need," Lyra replied, turning to Komachi and bowing. "Thanks for the escort. Again. Perhaps you should return to work now?"

Komachi sighed again, scratching at her chin for a moment before turning to leave. "Well, good luck Miss Daidouji. And sorry again."

Komachi took a step forward, and suddenly.. vanished. Lyra blinked, unsure of what she saw exactly. It looked like Lyra sort of... took a several miles long step toward her destination at a high speed. Weird.

Shaking her head, the maid once again glanced upwards at the winding staircase that seemed to stretch infinitely. It seemed quite unnecessary to Lyra. Was all this to deter people from entering some sacred ground? Well, it was probably quite effective, but Lyra didn't care. She had a task to do.

* * *

><p>"Miss Mima! Where've you been, ze?" Marisa cheerfully called to her old master, who flitted through the roof of the shrine. The spirit glanced at everyone present, noticing that a few were fuming over something.<p>

"Nowhere, really. Just thought I'd take a float around the area," Mima shrugged dismissively, heading for the kitchen, and returning a moment later with a bottle of sake. "So, any word on Artie's whereabouts?"

Alice shook her head. "No, my dolls have yet to find him."

"Our Fairies haven't reported back either," Christina added, who was still patting the shoulder of a sniffling Anya, who had taken a rather crippling insult that derided her physical durability at some point in the previous argument. "Well, except to say that they're getting sleepy or bored with the work."

"Typical, Mima muttered, taking a swig of the alcohol. "Well, I expected as much. He's not the kind of person you can find easily."

Reimu swiped the bottle from Mima's hand, frowning slightly. "Shouldn't you know where he would likely hide? I figured you were out looking for him."

"I'm quite sure this is his first time visiting Gensokyo, Hakurei," Mima pointed out, folding her arms. "How am I supposed to know where he'd go? If anything, it's a wonder he managed to hide himself so well."

Reimu merely rolled her eyes and returned the sake bottle to the kitchen. Upon returning, the shrine maiden pointed to Christina and said, "Come on Rena, training time."

"... I'm Christina." The young mistress pointed out.

"Duh. I was asking Rena."

"Oh, right... um, actually, I want to help." Christina said, getting to her feet. She patted Anya's shoulder one more time and walked towards Reimu.

"Huh, you can fight?" Reimu asked dubiously.

Christina shook her head. "Not really, but I have access to Rena's strength. I just need to learn how to use it as good as she does!"

The young mistress spoke again, but the change in voice indicated that it was Rena who spoke the next words. "Just train with her, Reimu. She's quite determined to learn."

"Fine..." Reimu sighed. "Just try and pose a threat, okay? I need to relearn my technique somehow..."

The two girls flew above the shrine, leaving the rest behind. Tara decided to get started on lunch, and asked Anya to help. With a nod, the smaller youkai followed her sowrn sister into the kitchen, while Alice approached Mima.

"Lady Mima, may I speak with you?" She asked quietly.

"I guess," Mima shrugged. "Want to learn Marisa's turn ons? Might make you a viable love r-"

"Nothing like that," Alice cut across the spirit stiffly. "It's... more personal than that."

Mima smirked mischievously. "Oh? Late bloomer? Regardless, it's still a natural process for any young girl."

Alice, not amused by the remarks, glanced at Marisa, who only shrugged and went to bother Elly. "I'm being serious, Lady Mima."

"Drop the title, it's not needed," Mima advised. "Well, go on."

"In private, please." Alice requested, turning to leave the shrine. With a small sigh, Mima followed. The two passed Genji on the patio, who gave them a curious glance as they passed, although Alice ignored him and Mima only shrugged.

The doll master led the spirit around the back of the shrine, towards a store house. Satisfied that no one would hear them, Alice began. "I need to know what death was like."

Mima raised her eyebrows, surprised at the request. "... How would I know?"

Alice narrowed her eyes. "Don't joke around, please. It's important."

"I'm being serious," Mima said innocently. "Born and bred a ghost, I am! But why do you want to know something like that? Scared?"

Alice ignored the slight mocking tone in the spirit's voice and replied, almost inaudibly, "Yes. I am."

Mima began to laugh at that, and Alice clenched her hands into fists. And people wondered why she didn't like confiding in others? At least Marisa had the decency not to be a bitch about it.

"Sorry..." Mima began, shaking her head. "But... what's to be afraid of? Surely you realise that you'll just cross a stupid river, and some judge'll give you a guilt trip about the one time you punched a fairy before it officially ruined your day, then ships you off to the afterlife!" Mima chuckled again. "Unless you're secretly a hardcore villain, you don't have much of anything to fear!"

"I've died before," Alice replied evenly. "I saw nothing. I heard nothing. I felt nothing. Is that normal?"

Mima gazed at Alice curiously. "... Again, how would I know? Never been a living being before."

Alice wanted to declare bull shit on that, but she didn't. Instead, she merely sighed and said, "I see. Sorry for wasting your time."

The doll master made to leave, but Mima stopped her.

"If it helps, the fact that you're alive now indicates to me that you couldn't have been 'dead' in the first place," Mima said. "You should have, at the very least, seen a glimpse of the Sanzu river if you died."

"... I definitely died," Alice replied calmly. "Shinki brought me back at the cost of my humanity, and I fear that's exactly the problem."

Mima remained silent as she contemplated the girl before her. Who knew she had such problems in her heart? Then again, everybody strove to keep their problems hidden.

"Well, best to ask her about it," Mima told her. "At the very least, she'll point you to someone with all the answers."

"Hm." Alice grunted in reply as she returned to the shrine.

**Evening**

Mion gazed at the village below her, slightly disgruntled. Artimus had decided to let the vampire have some fun tonight. Never mind the fact that she was nothing more than a doll who no longer felt anything, what made her so good at killing that she was chosen over Kat and herself? It was unfair!

This was the second last village remaining, and the furthest from the shrine. Interference would be extremely unlikely, but they had been taken by surprise before. Mion was mainly there as a look out. Boring.

Glaring at Flandre, Mion sighed and simply said, "Well, go on. Remember what to do."

"Very well." Flandre dropped down towards the village. Few were outside at this time, and Flandre, despite her bright clothing and even brighter wings, was still able to slink away into the shadows, practically invisible.

It was time to hunt.

An unsuspecting human walked the streets, near Flandre's location. Neither hunger nor bloodlust crossed Flandre's pale, expressionless face. He was barely two paces away, his breathe visible in the slightly chilly air. He was taking his time to reach his destination. One which he would never reach.

Flandre suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the man's neck. Before he could cry out in surprise, he was dragged into the shadows, where the Hunter quickly pressed her hand to the man's mouth, staring at him blankly.

Flandre bared her fangs as the man's eyes widened in fear and realisation. He struggled, but the vampire's supernatural strength proved to much. The younger Scarlet bit into his neck, letting the blood flow over her lips, onto her tongue. Such an act should bring a sensation of invigoration, empowerment, fulfilment... all it did was indicate to Flandre that her strength had increased slightly.

With a surprising cleanness to her meal, Flandre drained the young man, who quickly stopped resisting as his life was sucked dry. Licking the remaining blood from his neck, Flandre then hefted the body over her shoulder, and began to stalk the shadows.

Mion watched from above. While she could barely see the vampire, her action was largely visible to her.

It was also noticed by a passing fairy.

Watching in wide eyed surprise, the fairy witnessed Flandre's attack. She didn't get a good look at the attacker, so it took a while to decide, but the fairy concluded that she had to be one of the people she was looking for.

Which meant, she had something to report.

With a nervous glance to make sure that she wasn't going to be struck by the evil girl in the shadows, the fairy turned and darted as fast as it could in the direction of the shrine.

It was a twenty minute flight before the fairy arrived, yelling for her mistress, before crashing into the person in question. Breathless, it began to babble almost incoherently about her find, and Christina had to make the fairy slow down and repeat herself.

"A bad girl killed a human!" The brown-haired fairy repeated, sounding almost excited, which wasn't quite the tone anyone needed to accompany the report. "I didn't see her, 'cause she was all shadowy, but she grabbed a human and he never came back!"

Reimu and Marisa glanced at each other uneasily. "Flandre?" The witch asked.

"Very likely," Reimu answered. "We've gotta stop her, come on!"

"Hold it," Mima ordered. "Before you rush off, consider the idea of leaving the shrine undefended. Artimus may not look it, but he could be aiming to blow your shrine up when you aren't looking."

"And?" Reimu snapped. "I can handle rebuilding my shrine again, so long as I stop people dying!"

"And what's stopping him from blowing the shrine up at this moment of time anyway?" Tara asked the spirit.

Shaking her head, Mima continued, "Because he'd rather do it when you're not around and screw with your head. Look, Reimu, stay here. Shujiko, Anya, and Tara should remain as well."

Shujiko frowned slightly at being asked to stay behind, but understood the reasons. Then again, she felt well enough to fight, so perhaps she should... no, maybe she should stay and look after Reimu?

"Me?" Tara asked in surprise. "Why?"

"Backup," Mima answered simply and impatiently. "You can make shields, and in the event Artimus or his friends attack, you can keep 'em out."

Tara doubted very much that, should Artimus attack, she would be able to withstand more than one attack without the mental backlash killing her, but merely nodded. Besides, there was a slightly more troubling matter with Mima's deployment. "What of Mistress Christina?"

Mima glanced at the person in question. "It's not her I need, it's Rena."

Christina gave Mima a questioning look, and a moment later Rena came to the fore front to ask, "You need my help?"

"Sure," Mima said, and moved on without elaborating further. "All right, Marisa, Alice, I want you two to go find the mansion guys."

"Me?" Marisa asked in surprise. "But I'd rather fight!"

"Very well." Alice replied curtly.

"Hold up! Since when do you get to order me around?" Reimu demanded indignantly. "I'll do whatever the hell I want, and I want to save people!"

"And you will," Mima said condescendingly as she patted Reimu's head. "When I can trust you to take on freakishly strong beings with unfathomable power, okay?"

Reimu glowered at Mima, angry that the spirit had practically taken over and overrode her authority. What right did she have, ordering Reimu around? Saviour or not, it wasn't like she was the goddess of the shrine!

Well, like hell Reimu was going to listen to her. After all, she'd proved on more than one occasion that she was stronger than Mima, so why should she be the one treated like a weakling?

"You know what? I'm taking Flandre on right now!" Reimu snapped at the spirit and began to march from the shrine. "When I kick her ass again, maybe you'll see that I'm more than capa-wah!"

Something had coiled around Reimu's ankle and dragged her back into the shrine. Looking for the source, the shrine maiden saw that Mima was carrying what appeared to be a glowing, pale green rope, and a smirk.

"I seriously had to resort to tying you down? Can't you take a hint?" Mima sighed, conjuring a small blue sphere and attaching it to the end of the rope, letting it drop. For a small sphere of magic energy, it sure made a loud crashing noise when it landed.

Reimu was speechless for a second. then she exploded.

"What in the name of hell is your problem?" The miko screeched furiously. "Let me do my goddamn job before I seriously wipe you out, you stupid frickin'-"

"Way to not give a shit for others," Mima interrupted calmly, a cold smile on her face as she leered at Reimu. "_Someone_ seems to have forgotten that if they die, bad things befall this place. And wouldn't you know it? We're dealing with a killer."

Reimu glared at the smug ghost, while everyone stood silently and awkwardly, unsure if they should intervene. Even Marisa and Genji didn't quite know what to say.

"Now listen here Hakurei," Mima began. "Under normal circumstances, I'd gladly let you fly off and shoot things until the problem sorted itself out. The problem with it now is that you're fighting someone who is unbelievably powerful, and would gladly take the chance to kill you. Because that would be very catastrophic. Understand?"

Reimu still didn't reply, although her death glare was lessened slightly by uncertainty. Mima took that as a sign she understood. "Now, try and relearn your precious Fantasy thing, and maybe I can allow you to fight Artie, hm? Until then, you _must not _fight him under any circumstances, okay?"

"...Tch." Reimu avoided Mima's gaze, instead staring at the floor. Satisfied that Reimu was placated, Mima turned to the others.

"'Kay gals, move out."

As the others prepared to leave, Marisa approached Mima, a half grin on her face. "... Nice cover up, Miss Mima."

"Cover up?" Mima asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You just don't want Reimu there to get hurt, do ya?" Marisa asked. "You can't hide that from me, I'm afraid."

"What am I hiding?" Mima asked innocently. "Well, whatever you say, Marisa. Now, hurry up and help Dolly over there, hm?"

Marisa sighed as she shouldered her broom. "Okay, but I feel my talents are wasted on this messenger service, ze."

"Knowing Artimus, he'd anticipate our interference, and would send one of those girls to bar your path," Mima explained. "I'd rather have someone I know to be powerful deal with that."

Reimu made a disgruntled noise at that comment as she idly picked at the magic rope. Marisa glanced at the shrine maiden, before shrugging and rejoining Alice.

A moment later, both 'teams' had moved out, leaving Reimu, the unmentioned and probably forgotten Genji, Shujiko, Anya and Tara behind. Alice and Marisa headed for the Scarlet Devil Mansion, while Mima, Elly and Rena headed in the direction that the fairy had arrived from. Mima guessed that they wouldn't be able to stop most of whatever carnage had been wrought, but if they could eliminate the problem...

As they travelled, Rena turned to the fairy, her hair warping to her usual style. "Jinxie, go gather the rest of the fairies and return to the mansion, okay?"

The fairy, Jinxie, nodded and diverted from the group to find the rest of the fairies.

At the same time, Alice was giving orders to Shangai to find her dolls and regroup at her house. She planned to make a quick stop there to pick up something that she hopefully wouldn't need to use.

But a feeling of unease settled over both groups as they flew for their destinations. None could figure out why, but they all had a vague idea that tonight wouldn't be free of bloodshed. Each of them hoped that it was just their imagination, because no one was really in the mood for tragedy.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry this took so long again. I had no internet access for nearly two weeks. At least it gave me time to fix a bunch of problems with the ending... even if it does still look like crap. Yay.<strong>


	15. Chapter 15  The Second Skirmish

With a sickening thump, the lifeless body fell from the shadows, startling the group nearby. Cautiously, a middle-aged man approached, looking cautious. He probably already knew this person was dead, but he had to make sure, right?

The pale, bloodless corpse was face up, bite marks caked with dried blood visible on his neck. The man who approached realised that this person was, in fact, dead, and turned to inform his companions.

It was then that Flandre struck.

Before someone could warn the unfortunate man, Flandre had emerged from the shadows and grabbed him from behind. With a yelp, he tried to break free, but was easily forced to his knees by the far stronger vampire.

"Wh-what are you-" He said, trying to keep the surprise and fear out of his voice, but was silenced when something punctured his neck.

Eyes wide, the victim could feel the lips of his attacker as his blood was drained. Someone else screamed, others fled… at least one other human attempted to aid his friend, only to be nonchalantly beaten back by danmaku as Flandre drained her victim.

Letting the body fall to the ground, Flandre licked her lips free of blood, her expressionless face chilling any who saw.

The beaten man on the ground quickly scrambled to his feet and sprinted away as fast as he could. Flandre watched him leave, along with the few others present without expression.

Her arm raised, pointed at a house to her left. Clenching her fist tightly, the house crumbled upon itself, crushing whoever was inside.

"You bitch!" Someone screamed from behind. Some human who witnessed her actions. He wielded a spear of wood and iron. Completely useless.

"Die, you monster!" The human yelled, charging at the young vampire. Turning to face him, Flandre casually grabbed the shaft of the spear before it penetrated her stomach, staring silently as the man struggled to free his weapon.

His eyes widened when he found himself being lifted into the air. Merely moving her wrist, Flandre raised the man using his spear, still staring blankly and lifelessly at him.

Before he could simply let go of the weapon, Flandre suddenly slammed the spear downwards, the man crumbling to the ground with a yelp. Flandre would have finished him off then, but a youkai had appeared to defend the village. It was nothing to her, just a faceless opponent.

Few more arrived to try and stop Flandre as she slowly stalked the streets, destroying buildings and people with a mere clench of her fist, or even using simple danmaku to intimidate her prey with a non-lethal display of power. It wasn't long before screaming hordes attempted to evacuate the village from all directions.

"That took all of fifteen minutes…" Mion sighed impatiently, watching the vampire's progress from high above. Why did she have to be so damn slow about this? Just tear the village a new asshole and be done with it. Same effect, after all.

Artimus probably told her to take her sweet time. Either for 'artistic' value, or he was just using Flandre as an excuse to piss her off. Mion was far from amused.

Mion gave the surrounding area another sweeping gaze. Still no interference. She expected those irritating do-gooders to have appeared by now… no, wait… yeah, she could barely see a group of people speeding to her location.

Well, as much as she would love to utterly crush each and every one of them, Mion was heavily disadvantaged. Flandre may end up overwhelmed, which - while satisfying - was apparently detrimental to Artimus' schemes. What a pity.

"Hey, Puppet!" Mion called to the young vampire. "C'mon, we're gonna have to leave!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the Forest's resident magicians were flying above the trees, heading for the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The skies were thankfully clear of obstacles, but both girls were still on their guard.<p>

A few dolls had gathered around Alice, having crossed their master's path. The others would be regrouping at her home. Speaking of which…

"Marisa, go on ahead!" Alice instructed as she began to descend. Marisa glanced over her shoulder and saw Alice drop, and immediately ceased flight.

"Alice! What're you doing, ze?" Marisa yelled, but received no reply.

Making a 'tch' noise, Marisa contemplated her options. Follow Alice or speed on ahead to the SDM. Both seemed equally important to the witch, but one of these options also involved informing the relative of a brainwashed engine of destruction that was currently out destroying a village that she would need to go and sort out said relative.

On the other hand, leaving Alice alone didn't sit right with Marisa. Sure, she had those dolls, but honestly, how much help could those guys be? And Marisa was scared that, at any moment, on of their enemies could ambush either of them-

One of Alice's more generic dolls suddenly approached Marisa as she tried to decide. Raising its tiny hand, the doll suddenly offered a weak slap that succeeded in drawing Marisa's attention.

"Master has instructed you to go!" The doll said in a shrill voice. "Master expects you to comply and not to worry!"

Marisa glanced at the little automaton with a raised eyebrow, before sighing and nodding. "Fine, but she better hurry her ass up, okay?"

"I will relay the message!" The doll promised, and Marisa once again shot off in the Mansion's direction.

Meanwhile, Alice navigated the forest, still flying, yet slowly. Her home was nearby, she knew.

It wasn't long before her house became visible through the trees. Feet coming to a rest upon the ground, Alice walked swiftly towards her home, entering it.

As nice as it was to be home again, Alice didn't have the luxury to relax or finish up on her doll. She needed that book she'd locked away. The doll master had never thought she would use it again so soon, and would much rather avoid having to. Not because the magic contained within were so dark, so twisted that reality would crumble away in fear, but simply because…

Alice sighed. Adding an inferiority complex to her troubles now? Yeah, okay. Why not?

Entering her bedroom, Alice stood before the cabinet that held the Grimoire. Naturally, it was absolutely loaded with repellent magic to prevent it being stolen from Ma- thieves. And, of course, she was immune to those charms. The doll master wondered if she needed it. She wasn't weak, was she?

Then again, even if she wasn't, Artimus was even more powerful. That crazy monster scared Alice, even though she knew it could never defeat her. And whoever that other girl, Mion, was, couldn't exceed her abilities, according to Mima. Was there a need to resort to the grimoire?

"Master!" Shangai piped up from over Alice's shoulder. "Don't worry!"

"…What do you mean?" Alice asked, surprised at the statement.

"I can detect great unease from you, Master!" Shangai cheerfully informed. "Whatever troubles you, believe me when I say that I, my sisters, Marisa, and all of her friends will gladly help you out!"

Alice stared at her doll for a long time, who only smiled brightly back. That was… unexpected. Almost like Shangai had spontaneously spoken from the heart.

"…You know I don't need any help, Shangai." Alice said with a small smile, taking the grimoire into her hands.

"Whatever you say, Master!"

_Is that sarcasm I'm hearing? _Alice wondered. If it was, then perhaps Alice had somehow figured out how to create truly like-like dolls. Now all she had to do was find out what it was she did.

Unfortunately, there was no time to research that. She had to catch up to Marisa, and she was running late as it was. With grimoire in hand, Alice swiftly left her home, Shangai dutifully following.

Just outside were three dolls, returning home. After one of them relayed that their master should 'hurry her ass up', Alice immediately ordered them to follow her as well, before taking to the air and flying in the direction of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

* * *

><p>Up ahead, Marisa was speeding along, the mansion just coming into view from beyond the lake. Excellent! The sooner she reached it, the better. There wasn't much time to waste, after all-<p>

"Shit!" Marisa suddenly growled when a figure came into view just ahead of her. Artimus wore that infuriating grin as he watched Marisa brake suddenly, facing the dangerous man with a look of wary rage.

"The hell are you doing here, ze?" Marisa snarled.

"Preventing you from passing," Artimus replied pleasantly. "I wouldn't want you lot to bring a premature end to Flandre and Mion's fun."

Marisa glared hatefully at him as she produced her hakkero. After their last encounter, Marisa knew she couldn't rely on keeping him down with just danmaku. She would need to fight to kill. But… even if it was Artimus, that wasn't something Marisa was willing to do.

"No doubt you're aware that you can't beat me," Artimus commented with that cursed politeness of his. "Even if you are Mima's apprentice, being a human, unfortunately, has limited you greatly."

"… Arrogant asshole, aren't ya?" Marisa said coldly. "I'll have you know that I'm the strongest girl that's ever existed, ze."

Artimus chuckled at her little boast. "Oh? And hat ofLady Hakurei? Wouldn't she be number one?"

"Nah, we're roughly equal." Marisa said, now wearing a cold smile. "But that's not important. What I have to do now, ze, is show you the true power of an Ordinary Magician!"

Artimus raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then, by all means, show me."

"Your funeral," Marisa growled, eyes alight with malice as her hakkero began to radiate a faint light.

* * *

><p>"Bitch. Bitch. Bitch. Bitch." Reimu chanted miserably, picking at the light green, glowing chain that tethered her to the floor.<p>

Opposite the disgruntled shrine maiden, Anya nervously asked, "Um, y-you aren't talking to me, are you?"

"Take a wild guess," Reimu sighed, and Anya looked even more confused, and slightly hurt.

_Oh, come on. _"No, I didn't mean you, Anya. I meant Mima."

"Oh." Anya looked immensely relieved.

"Lady Reimu, I know Mima's conduct is somewhat annoying for you, but no matter how that spirit clouds her words, she still means to protect you," Genji pointed out. "And frankly, I have to agree with her. I don't want you fighting that lunatic right now."

"… I dunno, I think she has a chance, even without that Fantasy Heaven…" Shujiko stated.

Genji sighed. "A 'chance' isn't enough reassurance, I'm afraid."

"May I suggest we stop bickering about it?" Tara asked, arriving from the kitchen carrying a tray laden with bowls of rice. She hadn't been up to cooking anything extravagant at the moment. "Complaining won't get us anywhere, and we should be a little more alert."

There was a general agreement amongst the group left at the shrine. Arguing was pointless, and if they were attacked now…

Tara began to place the bowls on the table as the others gathered.

"Reimu?" Tara turned to the shrine maiden. "Come on, you're not stuck to that one spot, you know."

With a sigh, Reimu crawled over to the table and settled between Anya and Shujiko, lazily picking at her meal with the chopsticks. The chain seemed to stretch to allow the shrine maiden movement, but knowing Mima it would stop just short of the entrance, and Reimu wouldn't be able to break it without breaking her shrine into tiny little splinters.

Reimu didn't give a crap if Mima did it to keep her safe or whatever., it was insulting. She'd been resolving Incidents since she was twelve! Beat the crap out of Mima two or three times, was one of many opponents to lose to her when that weird, magic-less human arrived in those ruins, and she had fought Yuuka twice! Where in the name of hell did Mima get off, deciding that she was still too weak to deal with Artimus?

Everyone else could sense the foul thoughts emanating from the bitter miko, and they ate in awkward silence for a while. At least things were peaceful at the shrine. Then again, if nothing was happening here…

* * *

><p>"Move, you stupid brat!" Mion growled venomously at the brat of a vampire, who had ignored Mion's orders of retreat, and merely continued her rampage. The soulless vampire had said something about fulfilling Artimus' wishes, which only enraged Mion further. Who gave a crap about that? The enemy was fast approaching, and as much as Mion would love to slaughter them all, she would be at a disadvantage.<p>

"Listen to me, you brainless little puppet!" Mion demanded of Flandre. The blonde girl finally stopped walking, and glanced up at the approaching figures.

"Finally noticed! Now, let's go!" Mion growled. Flandre ignored her words and rose into the air to meet them.

"Hate." Mion simply stated hollowly, before resigning herself to another unfair battle and following after Flandre.

Mima, Elly and Rena noticed Flandre and slowed to a halt, watching her. Mima, with arms folded within her sleeves, approached first.

"I take it you're that little vampire who's lost her will?" Mima asked.

Flandre was silent.

"Guess you are then. And you must be…" Mima turned her attention to Mion, raising an eyebrow. "… A ribbon fetishist."

Mion simply raised her middle finger to the spirit, who chuckled.

"You act like you're already on the verge of defeat. No wonder, really. Dynamic power really sucks when you can't get one-on-one duels, huh?"

Mion looked momentarily surprised that Mima knew, but quickly reverted to a glare. Like hell she would look weak in front of this person.

"Ah, the look of one who refuses to acknowledge how terribly outclassed they are…" Mima sighed fondly. "In many ways, an even more blatant declaration of weakness than outright surrender."

The silver-haired girl looked insulted and furious at those words, and tugged at a ribbon on her left fore arm. Immediately, Mima flicked a danmaku bullet at her forehead, stunning her.

"Well, she all yours Rena," Mima said dismissively. "Just keep her from using any spells, and it'll be an easy win."

Rena looked from the spirit to the vile being. "…So you brought me here to deal with her? How'd you know she'd be here?"

"Lucky guess, now hurry up," Mima ordered. "Elly, let us deal with Flandre."

Elly nodded as Rena threw more danmaku at Mion to distract her from using any of her spells. Flandre made no move to help her, instead watching her own designated opponents.

"So, this cutie gave the girls a little bit of trouble, huh?" Mima chuckled the question rhetorically. "Should be interesting!"

Mima clapped her hands together, and shifted to a pose that would indicate she should be holding a pole of some sort. Nothing appeared, and Elly gave her a confused glance.

"Force of habit," Mima said with a small grin. "Well, I won't need the thing anyway. It's a lovely moon out tonight. Don't you agree?"

Flandre raised her hand, looking at Elly, who immediately cottoned on and moved, scythe flashing in the moonlight as she raised it.

Remilia had requested that they only keep her busy until she arrived to personally deal with her sister. Such a request was laden with risks, but Mima was confident she could play around for a little while, but the second things may slip from her control…

"Fulminating Darkness," Mima whispered, a sphere of black energy forming in front of her. A second later, it exploded, sending a dark beam of light at Flandre, who swiftly glided to the side, her wings jingling loudly.

Elly, who had raised higher into the air, swung her scythe downwards, intent on burying the blade into the vampire's shoulder. However, Flandre nonchalantly raised her hand, catching the blade.

The gatekeeper frowned, but she wasn't out yet. After all, when fighting someone who was clearly stronger than you, it made sense to fight a little unconventionally.

"Brilliant Sun - Blade of Amaterasu!" Elly declared, her scythe growing white hot. Flandre immediately released the blade moving back. She didn't inspect the damage to her hand, but it had practically shrivelled away to a charred mess in the split second it had come into contact with a sun-powered blade.

"There's a new one," Mima commented, vaguely impressed.

"Master taught it to me years ago," Elly smiled as she watched for Flandre's next move. "Not a technique for danmaku battles though."

Meanwhile, closer to the ground, another fight was taking place. Mion was desperately throwing random danmaku bullets in an effort to fend of Rena's assault, who casually dodged the spacey patterns and returned fire.

_Why the hell did I have to get her? _Mion lamented, feeling another bullet graze her face. Damn, her inconsistent power was interfering with the dynamic power again.

"What's wrong? Why don't you petrify us?" Rena taunted, sending a thick length of hair Mion's way, who immediately began dancing around the strands. "Break us into little bits? Go on, I dare you!"

"Or maybe you're too weak?" Christina piped up, temporarily taking control. "Perhaps you can't beat anyone without someone doing all the work for you!"

Enraged, Mion shouted back, "You're one to - wow - talk! This is a two-on-one, you - wah - hypocritical bitch!"

Christina managed to wrap some of her hair around Mion's ankle and pull her forward, latching her other limbs. When they were face to face, Christina's expression was blank.

"That's right. I'm weak," Christina agreed. "Without Rena, I wouldn't be able to throw a single bullet straight. But at least I can acknowledge that. As for you…"

"All bark and no bite," Rena sneered. "Your ability relies on the strength of others. Without it, you're as pathetic as you believe we are."

Mion glared hatefully at the shared face of the twins. "So you're gonna lecture me? How lovely. Why not just kill me so I can go pay a visit to your precious little servant," Mion's glare became a cold grin. "You know, I'd love to hear her scream and beg for mercy when I mutilate her soul."

"I have a better idea," Christina said calmly, although her tone seemed to freeze the air surrounding them. "Why don't I mutilate your body first? I'll start by cutting your chest open, I'm not sure you really have a heart. I'd like to double-check."

"_Christina…" _Rena spoke with a warning tone. _"Don't take it too far. You know Lyra would never forgive us."_

Christina, however, didn't seem to hear her sister's voice. She glared at Mion with icy blue eyes, her hair changing to its familiar blue shade as well.

"Tell me, why do you hurt others?" Christina asked. "What caused you to become a monster who enjoys carnage?"

"This bullshit again?" Mion sighed. "I already-urgh!"

Christina tightened the hair trapping Mion to the point that her bones felt ready to break. The silver-haired monster never knew hair could be so strong.

"You said you enjoy it. I want to know why." Christina repeated. "I want to know why you refuse to change!"

Mion, grimacing in pain, looked Christina in the eye. "And what would you do If I divulged my back story? Cry? Absolve me of my sins? Beg the gods to forgive me?" Mion shook her head in disgust. "Get over it, you stupid bitch. Monsters exist."

Christina was silent for a moment, but the thoughts running through her head were beginning to genuinely scare Rena. _"C-Christina…?"_

"You're right, monsters _do _exist," Christina nodded, staring into Mion's eyes and managing to unnerve even her. "And you're looking right at one."

* * *

><p>Artimus leaned his body to the left slightly as a stream of danmaku streaked by, then lowered altitude to avoid the blanket of bullets that followed. Marisa quickly took aim again, now firing her bullets in a ring formation. Rapidly, she released the bullets until Artimus was practically trapped in a cage of bullets.<p>

"Master Spark!" Marisa yelled, hakkero releasing the familiar laser of pure destruction. Artimus merely smiled and raised his arms to block. That wasn't even close to the power Marisa had achieved the last time she fired the spell. And if that hadn't stopped him then, it wasn't going to now.

When the spell ended, however, Marisa had disappeared. With the bullets clearing up, there was nowhere for her to hide. Except…

Artimus fired his own burst of danmaku at the trees below, nothing finding his target. Hm, unusual.

Sensing movement above him, Artimus glanced up to see Marisa charging another Spark. How useless.

Artimus quickly flew upwards to meet the magician, whose expression didn't change as he placed a hand over the hakkero. He frowned when it became apparent what was happening.

Marisa suddenly exploded in a thick deluge of bullets, pushing Artimus back with no real injuries to speak of. It was lucky it was merely danmaku, or that might have actually left a small mark.

And again, a hakkero was placed on his back, and he sighed dramatically.

"That was a nice little trick, Miss Kirisame, but nothing you do will be able to hurt me, as long as you stick to the spell card regulations." Artimus informed the grinning magician.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that one, ze," Marisa replied. "Master Spark Mark Two!"

Again, the Master Spark slammed into his back, but this time, Artimus felt it. Grunting slightly, he was carried a small distance away from the magician, his back seared by the spell.

"…Heh, you decided to go for lethal force," Artimus commented. "I thought you were against that."

"I am," Marisa replied with a cocky grin." But for someone like you, my 'lethal force' should only register as 'painful as fuck, ze' at best."

Artimus chuckled. "Well, at least you know that limiting yourself against me is rather stupid. Your beloved master always had trouble fighting me, even at full strength."

"You act like I haven't surpassed her already, ze," Marisa said in mock hurt.

Artimus however, seemed a little more serious. "Not quite. Your fire power is still a little bit behind. As a human, you're naturally much more limited than any youkai, especially with mortality. I will say, though, that you may just be the strongest human who ever lived. You or Hakurei."

"Like I said, we're about even," Marisa replied coldly. "And it looks like I still need to beat the fear of humans into ya, Artie."

"Well, this should be a fun attempt," Artimus commented. "And what of your friend? I believe she is fighting a rather dangerous opponent herself."

Marisa frowned in confusion. "Eh? But you're the only one…"

The blonde witch quickly glanced over her shoulder to see Alice approaching. Well, she looked okay, so what the hell was Artimus talking about?

Just below Alice, hidden by the trees, a figure suddenly leaped, clawing at Alice. Taken by surprise, she barely managed to avoid getting skewered on its claws, but it seemed she still took damage. She fell towards the ground, followed be her dolls and that figure.

"Shit!" Marisa attempted to speed to her rescue when Artimus suddenly barred her path, wearing a confident smile.

"Your opponent is me, Miss Kirisame," Artimus reminded her. "You should have a little faith in your friend."

Marisa's eyes were wide with horror, then a look of fury crossed her face. _That dirty bastard! He thinks I'm gonna play along?_

The Scarlet Devil Mansion was within sight, but too far away to retreat to for reinforcements. In that time, Alice could…

Marisa began charging magic in her hakkero again, still glaring furiously at Artimus.

"You really should expand your move list," Artimus commented. "You seem a bit too reliant on that Master Spark."

"Can't really go wrong with it, can you, ze?" Marisa replied coldly. When the energy reached its peak, Marisa suddenly whirled around, and fired it towards the mansion. There, that should get their attention.

Artimus raised an eyebrow at the move. "Hm. Should have seen that coming."

"Now, I believe you wanted me to expand my 'move list'?" Marisa asked as four orbs of varying colour began to surround her. Then four more after that, and another four. "Fine then, I'll go through every spell I've acquired since the day Mima took me in, ze. Prepare yourself!"

_Alice, you gotta hold on for a few minutes. I know you can do at least that much. _Marisa silently prayed.

* * *

><p>Alice groaned as she sat up, feeling the sting of those claws on her side. Crap, what had happened? Did that monster ambush her? Come to think of it, Marisa was fighting, wasn't she? Damn, she had to get up!<p>

"Master!" The dolls cried in unison, hovering over her. Shangai studied her wounds as best she could while Alice was retrieving her grimoire. "The wounds appear shallow, but immediate treatment is recommended!"

"No time," Alice muttered. "We have to-"

A sickening chuckle echoed around the trees, freezing Alice to the spot. The dolls immediately circled around Alice, acting as rather small shields as they watched for an attack.

"Tasty food. Lovely smell." The voice growled. So familiar, and yet different. It sounded deeper, more strained.

"Scream! Cry! Beg!" The voice suddenly demanded, sending shivers crawling through Alice's spine. "Beg for mercy as I feast!"

Alice inhaled shakily, trying to act composed, but the voice only laughed harder.

"Smell of fear! Intoxicating!"

Alice tightened the grip on her grimoire and tried to focus. She wasn't going to let fear conquer her. Gulping, the doll master replied, "I never knew you knew such big words. I assumed you were a mindless little beast."

"Maybe I am?" The voice cackled. It seemed to be coming from her right. "Oh! Toy! You can be my toy if you beg hard enough! I'll only nibble you sometimes!"

_Disgusting. _"I have a better idea," Alice said, her fingers twitching. "Why don't I put you down?"

"You can try," The voice growled savagely, and Kathy suddenly burst into view, charging towards Alice from the right, as she had thought.

"Move!" Alice ordered, and the dolls ascended. Swiftly, Alice twirled, hand outstretched towards Kathy, who felt small scratches form on her transformed skin.

Something small and sharp wrapped around her neck and arms, forcing her to a stop lest she kill herself on the tiny wires that seemed to extend from Alice's fingertips.

The dolls returned, each wrapping Kathy in another wire, while Shangai readied any defensive spells in case the opponent break free.

Alice noticed that Kathy looked rather different. Her dark skin had become rougher, her face wolf-like. Her hair had become even thicker and messier. The remnants of blood and dirt remained, though..

"…You transformed?" Alice asked with a raised eyebrow as Kathy snarled and twisted in an attempt to free herself. "What are you?"

The doll master glanced up at the sky, were the moon was barely visible through the tree tops. "…Could it be that you're a werewolf?"

"Release!" Kathy snarled furiously. "Must feed!"

"And you seem to have lost what little intelligence you possessed." Alice commented. Now that this creature was under her power, the fear had gone. A tinge of caution remained, but Alice held the leash now.

Kathy fell silent and glared at Alice, who met the gaze unflinchingly. "Now, what should I do with this beast? Shangai?"

"No idea, master." Shangai replied. "But I recommend getting rid of it soon. It is incredibly dangerous."

"I know…" Alice sighed. Kathy was an unrepentant murderer, and it would be for the best if she were stopped now, but the doll master was finding it difficult to muster up the will to kill this time. Hell, she may not have had it the first time, either.

Alice pitied the creature before her. Something told her that whatever life she had led must have turned her into such a beast. Being associated with Artimus and Mion made that much more likely that they could have destroyed her mind. Possibly irreparably.

"Hesitate," Kat suddenly spoke. "Means death."

"You're trapped within my strings. Any move you make will only lead to you shredding your body." Alice reminded her. "What would I need to hurry for?"

Kat only smiled cruelly. She glanced at a thread wrapped around her forearm, one of the strings Alice controlled. Slowly, she began to move that arm towards her mouth, and Alice struggled to keep her still. With gritted teeth, she watched as Kat stretched her neck towards her arm, trying to bite at the string.

"Stop!" Alice ordered, feeling panic rise again briefly. She quenched that feeling and concentrated on keeping Kat from moving any more. "I will slit your throat!"

Kat seemed to stop, her eyes flicking to Alice again. "Empty threat from a juicy piece of meat."

The feral youkai managed to snap at the string, breaking it with her teeth. A doll that had a string wrapped around Kat's bicep battled in vain to keep her from moving as the blood-thirsty monster began to claw at her neck, breaking that string with relatively little damage to herself.

"Don't think I'll let you!" Alice yelled, her grimoire levitating to her side as she waved both her hands, summoning more strings to grab at her.

Unfortunately, Kat simply dashed forward, avoiding the extra strings and moving while the rest were slackened from Alice's lack of concentration.

Shangai immediately charged at Kat. "I won't let you touch master!"

A burst of danmaku was fired from the little doll, which Kat side stepped. Ignoring the doll, she charged at Alice, who had frozen in fear as she felt control slipping away. Now death had come for her again, and then she would be lost in that empty void-

"Cirno…!"

Surprised, Kat paused in the swing she aimed at Alice's throat, looking for the source of the new voice. Big mistake.

"**Punch**!" The ice fairy slammed into Kat's chin with an uppercut, her hand cloaked in ice. With a surprised howl, Kat leaped back, staring at the new threat in disbelief. As did Alice.

"You… you're…" Alice said slowly.

Cirno glanced back at her with a wide, cocky grin. "Yep, Supreme Kick-asser Cirno! Here to exterminate monsters and people I don't like!"

The ice fairy turned her attention back to Kathy again, blue eyes alight with victory. "And you, evil monster ugly person monster! You just got hit by the greatest attack ever! Because I just invented it to be so!"

Kathy blinked in confusion, then returned to her usual, growling self.

"Ice isn't tasty. Begone." Kathy warned. "Fairies weak, not filling."

Cirno frowned as the ground below her bare feet turned to ice. "Weak? Did you just call me weak?"

"Cirno, get away!" Alice warned. "She's dangerous! You won't be able to-"

"Because let me get something straight here!" Cirno declared loudly, her crystalline wings shimmering greatly despite the lack of sunlight. "I happen to the absolute strongest entity in this forest, in Gensokyo, and in my head! If I think you're weaker than me, then I am right!"

"Not now!" Alice growled in exasperation. "Get away now, and I'll-"

Still heedless of Alice's words, Cirno continued her boasting. "And you, foul monster! I won't stand by while you terrorise the weak!"

…_What? _Alice stared at the back of the fairy's head, insulted. Did she really just call her weak?

Kat, who had picked the threads from her body as Cirno made her little speech, still looked disinterested. "Ruining meal. Die."

With a confident chuckle, Cirno folded her arms. "Bring it, ugly monster from Uglyland!"

Well, Cirno wasn't going to move. At least she was a fairy, so permanent death wasn't an issue. Alice, on the other hand…

"Everyone, prepare," Alice cautioned, her dolls returning to her side. "We'll overcome this fight together."

"As if I need help!" Cirno laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>Totally not worth the wait, was it? Sorry ._.'<strong>

**Well, at least I updated with something. With any luck, I'll be a tiny bit more frequent with updates in the future. Maybe. Hard to say.**

**Anyway, Christina seems a tad... disturbed, right now, huh? Let's hope it doesn't lead to a self-destructive path. And Flandre gets to fight Mima (Oh, and Elly) for now. Let's see if I can make that exciting. And the other battles, of course.**


	16. Chapter 16  Pure Soul, Corrupt Mind

**Christina! Stop it!**

"Gah!"

**Christina!**

With a blank expression, Christina pulled back the fist made with her hair, Mion weakly grasping at the strands that coiled around her neck and held her aloft as the giant fist planted itself into the ribbon-clad girls stomach again and again with surprising force.

**Listen to me! You're killing her!**

Rena's pleas went unheeded. Christina simply tightened her hold on Mion, who was rapidly turning blue from the of air. Finally, on the verge of unconsciousness, the merciless girl finally threw her towards the ground. With a weak cry, Mion hit the earth, blood escaping from her mouth as she tried to move.

"Not even close to the pain I've felt." Christina muttered to herself, and Rena felt the waves of pent-up anger rolling from their shared body. Rena had been aware of the grief she felt, but to react in this way? Christina should never be able to act like this!

**Christina, calm down! **Rena ordered desperately. **Torture won't bring Lyra back!**

"I know that," Christina replied simply, lowering herself to the ground and planting a foot on Mion's shoulder, who glared at her with unfocused eyes. "Lyra can't come back like you. I might not see her again."

Her expression turned to utter fury, and she drove her foot into Mion's battered stomach, forcing another gurgled cry and more inner contents to escape Mion's lips.

And her expression was neutral again as blue-haired girl stared down at Mion. "Why is it that all the bad things happen to me?"

If she could, Mion would have delivered a snarky commented. A terrible idea when you were currently at the mercy of someone who had apparently lost their mind, but Mion wasn't prone to giving her enemies the satisfaction of seeing her broken.

Rena, meanwhile, was horrified. Thoughts were made known to her courtesy of Christina, and it was sickening to know her sister was capable of dreaming these scenarios up. Christina was always the innocent, good-natured, forgiving one of the two. Was it her fault that Christina was like this? All that time she had basically hijacked her sister's body and mind, perhaps it had corrupted her?

Crap, this wasn't the time to think about that! Right now, Christina was torturing that girl to death. Sure, said girl was an evil bitch with a complex, but Christina should be the one who was sickened at what was going on.

Christina knelt beside the beaten Mion, gripping her face tightly to keep Mion's mouth open.

**That's it, Christina. This ends now! **Rena exerted her will, trying to forcefully take control of the body. She was met with surprising resistance, but Rena refused to relent. She had to prevent her sister from making a horrible mistake, damn it!

Mion watched as Christina seemed to freeze, a worryingly thick length of hair poised above her face. The hell was going on with her? Internal power struggle? Fine, as long as it gave her time to do something…

* * *

><p>Not too far away from the battle, a spirit and a gatekeeper kept a mind-controlled vampire at bay. Elly, with her white-hot blade, was able to prevent Flandre from attempting any close-range attacks, while Mima utilised magic to attack from afar. Mima would have said that Flandre would be simple to defeat if she didn't feel the young vampire was holding back herself.<p>

Another swing, and another swift dodge from Flandre. Using the momentum from her swing, Elly's body rotated a full three-sixty degrees, her grip on the shaft deliberately slipping to the butt to increase the range of her second swing.

Again, Flandre avoided the strike, but it was a close one - the heat of Elly's scythe had slightly blistered the skin beneath Flandre's clothes. It was quite troublesome for a vampire to come across a weapon as hot as the sun.

The rings of green star-shaped danmaku that she found herself surrounded by was also slightly worrisome.

Mima wore a bored expression as she surrounded Flandre with her danmaku. This stalling game was quickly growing tiresome. The whole issue could have been resolved by now if she could just attack, but _noooo, _another vampire would throw a hissy fit about it.

Well, whatever. Danmaku wasn't going to kill her anyway. With a snap of her fingers, the bullets converged on Flandre, who protected her face with her arms.

Seemingly taking no notice of the attack, Flandre faced her two opponents with an ever-blank expression.

"Creepy…" Elly muttered to herself. "She's like a puppet."

"Mind control does that kind of thing," Mima replied.

Flandre's right hand outstretched, then tightly gripped the wand that flashed into her hand. Raising Laevatein, Flandre muttered, "Kagome, Kagome."

In an instant, Mima and Elly found themselves surrounded on all sides by large, green spheres, arranged into some sort of cage. Both watched warily for what would happen next.

Eventually, sections of the 'cage' began to shift closer, angled in such a way that it was difficult to avoid without running into another wall of bullets that had begun moving.

"I hope she isn't taking us lightly." Mima commented coldly as she weaved through the patterns. "Because I don' like cocky little brats."

A red sphere began to form on Laevateins' tip.

"Maybe not?" Elly suggested, who was having slightly more trouble with keeping herself unscathed. With new bullets constantly being formed, it was exceedingly difficult moving away from the firing range.

With a lifeless expression, Flandre fired.

* * *

><p>Lyra could have just flown up the winding steps to reach Hakyugokoru, but walking was no problem to the maid. After all, she'd spent over a thousand years looking after six different masters in a rather large mansion. She may as well be at the pinnacle of physical fitness by now.<p>

Besides, if there was a danger, why rush into it? It gave Lyra time to react to any dangers, although she hoped it wouldn't be the case.

At long last, she reached the top, coming across a blank plateau. Sweeping her gaze across the non-existent scenery, she frowned in confusion. Now what? There weren't any more stairs…

Lyra took a step forward, and cried out in surprise when the infinite darkness of the place exploded, revealing… some sort of sprawling, seemingly endless garden filled with cherry blossom trees.

The sight was beautiful, Lyra observed. Neatly cut grass lined by vibrant and colourful trees, and a building a fair distance away. She wasn't sure just how big that was, but behind it was a frankly massive tree, devoid of colour and petals, strangely enough.

"…This is Hakyugokoru?" Lyra breathed in wonder. It was certainly a lovely after-life location. It was too bad sight-seeing wasn't her objective. She needed to find the ruler of this place.

Another step forward, and suddenly a figure seemingly fell from the sky before her, landing in a crouch.

Even in such a pose, Lyra could tell she was fairly short. With silver hair held by a navy headband, she immediately gave the look of a striking young girl. She wore a light green dress with a white shirt, and two swords were sheathed and crossed upon her back. A short sword and an impossibly long one. Even for an adult-sized entity it would seem excessive. Why was this girl wielding such a weapon?

The girl glared piercingly at Lyra before standing to her full, unimposing height, a hand lightly gripping the handle of the longer blade. The sheathe was practically resting upon the ground, Lyra noticed.

"Identify yourself, intruder!" The girl commanded in a tone Lyra found most unfitting. It was difficult not to smirk.

Instead, Lyra kept her composure and bowed politely to the sword-wielding girl. "Lyra Daidouji, recently deceased maid. I am here to speak with Yuyuko Saigyouji. Is she here?"

The girl's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why would a random maid enter this sacred ground to converse trivial nonsense with my mistress?"

Lyra looked somewhat surprised at that. "Trivial? I don't believe it is, miss…?"

Youmu made a 'humph' sound. "I am the loyal gardener of Lady Saigyouji; Youmu Konpaku! And this…"

The gardener pulled the blade, sheathe and all, from its position on her back, swiftly swinging the blade so that the sheathe would slip away from the sword.

Sword revealed, Youmu continued, "…Is Roukanken! Sword forged by youkai, the things it can't cut are next to none!"

Lyra blinked, her expression neutral. She didn't normally meet people who introduced their blades in such a manner. The sudden idea of Tara exclaiming her nameless blade forced a smile onto the maid's face.

"What?" Youmu asked suspiciously.

"Sorry, it's nothing," Lyra shook her head, expression returned to normal. "Anyway, I have to speak with your mistress. I-"

Youmu pointed the blade at Lyra. "No. Turn back!"

Lyra sighed. "But I was sent by the-"

The maid quickly leaped to the right, throwing a hand out to cartwheel back into a standing position and face Youmu, who had suddenly lunged forward.

"Last chance. Leave this place!" Youmu barked, turning to face Lyra, the grip of the blade held to her right shoulder, arms crossed over each other.

Lyra was taken aback by the girl's hostility. She knew nothing of the little girl, but the maid was sure it wasn't exactly her normal behaviour.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, before Lyra straightened herself. "I'm sorry, but it's important that I see Yuyuko Saigyouji."

"And it's important that you stay away!" Youmu growled, and rushed forward again. Lyra leaped into the air, and was forced to twirl away as Youmu quickly followed, swinging the giant blade.

Managing to right herself in time for a landing, Lyra was again forced to leap away as Youmu suddenly plunged the blade into the ground she had occupied half a second earlier.

Well, Youmu had plunged the blade almost to the hilt, so it would be hell for her to get it back out. Maybe now she'd calm down.

"Please, I didn't come here to fight!" Lyra pleaded with the silver-haired gardener.

In response to this, Youmu released the sword and unsheathed the smaller blade. With a cry of 'Hakurouken', Youmu rushed Lyra, making quick, precise strikes that Lyra had some difficulty avoiding - her uniform was nicked in a few areas by the time Youmu relented and Lyra distanced herself again.

"Huh, you seem to have experience fighting a swordswoman," Youmu complimented grudgingly.

Lyra found herself smiling. "I'm not proficient in the use of swords, but I've trained extensively with people who do."

"Some maid," Youmu replied thoughtfully. Suddenly, she leaped back, towards Roukanken. Gripping the longer blade's hilt, the young girl effortlessly lifted the blade through the earth and shouldered it, somehow not keeling over from the sheer weight the blade must possess.

"I noticed you didn't try and fight back." Youmu said, sounding less harsh and suspicious. "Why is that?"

_Oh good, I think we're done fighting. _Lyra thought with relief. "I… didn't feel any real malice from you. You were protecting your master, right?"

"I'm sorry about that." Youmu said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "It's just… I have to be careful, you know? Things have been getting weird lately."

Lyra nodded in understanding. She could relate to wishing to protect someone dear to her.

"I have to say, you're pretty strong to be able to hold that thing." Lyra complimented. "How do you manage that?"

"Easy," Youmu grinned, and a spirit filtered into view. It appeared to be no more than a white blob with arms protruding from the sides to hold the tip of Roukanken aloft.

At Lyra's enquiring stare, Youmu proudly answered, "I'm half ghost, so this my ghost half! She acts like a counter-weight for my sword."

"I see," Lyra replied, impressed. She hadn't noticed at all. "Does it have a name?"

"Yeah. Youmu," The gardener answered, suddenly deadpan. "It's still me, you know."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think…" Lyra immediately apologised, and Youmu chuckled, waving her words away.

"Don't worry about it, everyone's the same. Anyway, you came to see my mistress, right?"

Oh yeah. With an affirmative nod, Youmu re-sheathed Hokurouken, then picked up Roukaneken's sheathe and slipped the large blade inside, placing it upon her back. Once she was ready, Youmu led Lyra to the distant home, her ghost half now a hazy appendage floating near her head.

"…Though, if you really needed to give it a name, my master's quite fond of 'Myon'." Youmu admitted with a slight blush. "I only said it that one time, but now she's convinced I named my ghost that…"

Yuyuko sounded like a rather simple-minded individual. That couldn't be the case, or else she wouldn't be ruling this place, though. Probably someone who was quite fond of teasing her servant.

Again, that nervousness of meeting a powerful figure was present. Lyra remained composed, however. She was here on official business. No use getting intimidated by someone she hadn't met.

* * *

><p>Three Orreries' Sun spells seemed to be doing a good job of keeping Artimus away from her, Marisa thought. The rapidly rotating orbs fired constant streams of danmaku, while Marisa shot as many bullets as inhumanly possible, occasionally littering the spreads of bullets with other spells to keep Artimus on his toes.<p>

It seemed to be a marginal success. She had yet to actually connect with her stronger attacks, and the danmaku that did hit him wasn't doing a good job at hurting him, but he was on the defensive, which was awesome. That meant he saw her as someone not to screw with.

Still, it was _slightly_ annoying that she just couldn't get a clean hit on the guy. His dodges looked so casual, and he never stopped smiling smugly, like the evil snake he was.

_Damn it, ze! Take a frickin' bullet to the face already! _Marisa thought savagely, her eyes darting to the treetops. This was taking too long. Why hadn't Alice emerged yet?

"Your attention wanders!" Artimus called out to the witch, shifting his head away from a stream of danmaku.

Marisa returned her hateful glare to Artimus again. Where the hell was the reinforcements as well? Too much time had passed, damn it!

Well, if she was really going to do this alone… best to just go all out. Show this bastard real power.

"Always wanted to try this anyway…" Marisa muttered, and swiped the hakkero in a diagonal motion, red energy swirling from it,.

"Zantetsu Prime - Demon Bullet!"

Like Tara's technique, something like a tear in dimensions opened before her. Also like Tara's technique, red bullets swarmed forth. The main difference between Tara's and Marisa's version of the attack was that the witch's bullets were smaller, yet faster and had homing properties. Nowhere near as potent as Reimu's, but given her usual arsenal, it may be a nice surprise.

At the very least, Artimus didn't seem to expect it. He had drifted to the left slightly, only to be clipped by a few passing bullets. Marisa quickly followed by slashing at the air with her hakkero again, sending much more at him. It forced the smug bugger to do something resembling an effort to dodge, at least.

Wiping sweat from her brow, Marisa charged more energy for a spell. It was becoming quite taxing, constantly pulling out her stronger spells, but she wasn't gonna relent now! She'd just do what Shujiko does and simply keep on going.

"Non-Directional Laser!" Marisa yelled, and the Hakkero began firing beams in Artimus' general direction. Yes! He dodged right into one!

Damn, he barely noticed!

With the bullets rapidly receding, Artimus had a much easier time avoiding the lasers and closing the distance between them. Gritting her teeth, Marisa tried to chase him away by expanding her Orreries Sun spells.

"No way!" Marisa gasped as Artimus effortlessly avoided the rapidly revolving spheres and entered the unimpeded space. He still wore that fricking smile!

"Amazing work, I must say," Artimus commented, clapping his hands. "You're quite an amazing human, nothing like the Outside World."

Ordinary Magician Marisa didn't bother with a quip, instead forcing her orbs to close in on her location to hopefully persuade Artimus to get the hell away.

Barely glancing at the orbs, Artimus' arm suddenly swung to his left, shattering a sphere at his side. As each orb inevitably came near him, the powerful entity simply struck them, dismantling Marisa's defences and leaving her wide-eyed.

"Though you aren't exactly defence-oriented," Artimus continued. "Which is were you should concentrate, I think. Humans are unbelievably frail, and no amount of sheer fire-power can change that."

Marisa blinked, and suddenly a sea of knives almost completely obscured Artimus from view. Reeling back in surprise, she almost bumped into two figures behind her.

"Huh, you're still alive," a familiar voice commented. "Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but still…"

Glancing over her shoulder, Marisa was glad to finally see her reinforcements; steely-eyed Sakuya and toothily-grinning Remilia.

"About god-damn time, ze!" Marisa exclaimed, and pointed at a section of the forest. "Go help Alice!"

"So that's why you tried to demolish my home," Remilia commented, and scanned the area around them. "…Flandre…"

Marisa pointed her in the right direction. "Village over there! Miss Mima and Elly should be holding her off now!"

With a nod, Remilia glanced at Sakuya and sped off, while Sakuya kept Artimus at bay with her knives. He didn't move or respond.

"This Alice is your friend, right." Sakuya stated, not making it sound like a question. "Why don't you help her?"

Marisa looked surprised, then smiled broadly. "You know, you're almost as awesome as Patchy, y'know that?"

"That's lovely." Sakuya simply replied, focusing on Artimus now. Marisa took that as her queue to go back Alice up.

* * *

><p>Snarling furiously, Kathy leaped away from the bullets fired by Alice's dolls, then by Cirno. Alice had attempted to ensnare the rabid werewolf in her strings, but a lucky swipe from Kathy batted them away. Still, Alice remained composed. With her dolls by her side, and an ice fairy who could - in the worst case scenario - take all the killing blows, there was nothing to fear from this mindless creature.<p>

With a wild howl, Kathy attempted to charge again. Shangai, hovering protectively before Alice, let loose an even larger volley of bullets, before firing single shots in random directions, hoping to disrupt her surprisingly efficient dodging skills.

Cirno, meanwhile, merely giggled condescendingly, flanking Kathy and firing more snowflake-shaped danmaku from behind. Kathy growled menacingly, flipping and contorting impossibly to avoid the onslaught. Eventually, a bullet struck her hip, which distracted the werewolf just enough to take a few more hits that forced her to retreat.

"Monster-slaying sure is easy!" Cirno exclaimed excitedly. "Why are you wetting your pants over this?"

"Shangai."

Complying with her master's obvious intentions, the doll cheerfully slapped Cirno over her head, eliciting a yelp of pain and surprise.

"Hey! What was that for!" Cirno demanded to know shrilly, and Alice merely pointed at Kathy.

Returning her attention to the problem at hand, Cirno saw Kathy had charged again, this time aiming for her. Quickly, the ice fairy began to ascend upwards, only to have her foot grabbed by Kathy at the last second.

"Ow! Leggo!" Cirno cried out.

Kathy only snorted, before howling in pain as Shangai and her sisters rammed into the werewolf's chest. Relinquishing her grip on the ice fairy, Kathy swiped at the dolls, knocking one to the ground as the others moved away.

Feeling something sharp around her ankle, Kathy realised that Alice had ensnared her in another string. Another around her waist, and two more on each wrist.

Snarling maniacally, Kathy attempted to bite at the strings, only to be pounded by more rounds of danmaku bullets, courtesy of Cirno and the remaining dolls.

"Kneel, dog." Alice commanded. "You can't win, and no one will save you."

"Mion! Won't leave!" Kathy growled in defiance.

"Sure she will. Now, stop your annoying struggling." Alice commanded again.

Kathy only howled louder, before falling silent and watching her enemies hungrily.

"That was easy," Cirno commented, floating as she rubbed at her pained ankle. "So now what, Dolly?"

Alice examined the werewolf once again. "…We don't let our guard down."

_That was a call for help just now. _Alice deduced, gripping her grimoire tightly. _Artimus is close by, and the other girl is possibly with Scarlet. This might be problematic._

If Artimus was the type to help his allies, then she may end up having to face him soon. Assuming he got past Marisa…

The doll master was worried. Marisa was strong, but she was still human, after all. She was frail compared to the likes of Artimus and even herself. Given how reckless she could be sometimes, it was possible that…

_No, I can't think that. _Alice told herself soothingly. _Marisa has no idea how to get herself killed. She's fine…_

* * *

><p>Flandre watched blankly as her opponents seemed to explode instantly upon being struck. Bright flames erupted from the cage of danmaku surrounding Mima and Elly, no doubt defeating both of them.<p>

The flames contorted wildly, shifting to a blue and green hue. That wasn't right.

The flames dispelled, leaving the spirit and gatekeeper unscathed, the latter also looking surprised. Mima only smiled.

"Spare bomb spells save lives," She pointed out with a chuckle. Sure enough, she had dispelled the danmaku that had previously surrounded them before.

Flandre tilted her head slightly, before pointing Laevatein at them again.

With a small 'tut' sound, Mima flicked a bullet at the vampire's forehead, while Elly immediately rushed forward, blade glowing white-hot.

Barely noticing the strike to her head, Flandre merely swung her weapon to block Elly's strike, her skin reddening at the proximity of the heat. The blonde vampire also noticed that Elly was beginning to breathe heavier.

"Exertion." Flandre simply stated. Apparently, maintaining a blade with the heat of the sun was tough for Elly.

With a glare, Elly pushed down upon Laevatein, trying to overpower Flandre. The prism-winged vampire didn't seem to notice, and instead pushed the gatekeeper back with a flick of her wrist.

During that time, Mima had began twirling her finger and pointing at the sky, watching the brief exchange. Once Elly had been repelled, Mima flicked her finger towards Flandre, muttering 'Lunatic Luna'.

At first, nothing seemed to happen, and Flandre readied another attack. She seemed to notice something eventually, as she drifted to the side to avoid a pale laser that fell from the sky. Turning her scarlet eyes upwards, Flandre saw several more falling towards her position.

With the vampire busy dodging the lunar bombardment, Mima glanced downwards to check the twin-minded girl's progress and saw a surprising sight; the Christina persona seemingly attempting to shove her hair into Ribbon's throat. That was somewhat disturbing.

Judging by her frozen state, though, it looked like she was struggling for control. Crap. She was leaving herself wide open.

"Elly, assist her!" Mima barked an order, and Elly looked confused, then followed Mima's gaze.

Eyes widening in surprise, Elly was about to voice her concern, when Mima repeated the order. "Go!"

"Y-yes!" Elly immediately rushed to Christina's side, scythe raised over her shoulder. She saw Mion reaching upwards to grasp Christina's neck, who was offering no resistance. Huh?

Meanwhile, the bombardment had ended, and Flandre had returned her attention to Mima, expression as blank as ever.

"Would it kill you to at least look a little pissed off?" Mima sighed. "Now I see why Arty mentioned his mind-control stuff really sucks."

Flandre raised Laevatein.

"All right, all right…" Mima sighed, and clicked her fingers. "Orrerries Sun."

Four orbs, connected by vague lines in a square formation, formed before Mima. Unlike Marisa's use of the spell, Mima was far more offensive in nature. The orbs shot towards Flandre, spitting out several waves of bullets in the process.

With a swipe of Laevatein, Flandre deflected most of the bullets, and was forced to slip by the rotating orbs and into the centre of the formation, at which point the orbs stopped, an electrical current passing by each orb and forming into some sort of cage.

"That should keep you for another two minutes," Mima told the trapped vampire, who didn't look the least bit concerned. "If your big sis doesn't appear then, I'm beating sense into you myself. No more games."

Flandre said nothing.

* * *

><p>Illusions would have been useless, Mion knew. Even if this freak of a girl was in a state to notice, she most likely wouldn't fall for anything she could muster. Perhaps a lack of subtlety wasn't such a good thing after all. Well, visions of mass murder and tricking idiots into beating seven shades of blue into someone was pretty fun on the flip side.<p>

Anyway, back to Freak. Perhaps the schizophrenic was arguing with herself or something. Fine, as long as she wasn't eating the frickin' hair.

And with any luck, she was too far out of it to notice much of anything…

Mion raised her arms, hands clasping around the little freak's scrawny neck. No resistance so far.

The silver-haired girl grinned with satisfaction as she dub her fingers into Freak's skin. Her breathing became laboured, but still did nothing. Wow, maybe her luck was turning around?

A scythe buried itself in the ground next to her head. Perhaps not, then.

Elly towered over Mion, tightly gripping her wrists to force Mion into releasing Christina. With a defeated sigh, she did so.

Keeping a firm grip on her wrists, Elly turned to Christina, a confused look In her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong with you? Snap out of it!"

"Guess her brain finally broke." Mion muttered. "You know, into smaller pieces than bef-urgh!"

Elly kept her foot planted in Mion's side, giving her a warning glare. "Why do you insist on doing that?"

"Because good guys aren't supposed to be so rough?" Mion gasped.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Stop it."<strong>

"_No."_

"**You will listen to me."**

"_She'll just kill everyone else if we don't stop her now!"_

Within the shared mind of the twins, a mental argument took place. Imaginary representations of the sisters faced each other, Christina wearing a regal, white dress while Rena wore her customary scarlet leotard.

"**You know that's just bull shit." **Rena countered with forced calm in her voice. **"Remember what happened when I killed people for stupid reasons?"**

"_You killed _innocent _people." _Christina replied sharply, and a twinge of pain erupted In their body. Rena blinked, shocked at what was said.

"…**How can you say that?" **Rena whispered. **"How can you even think of killing that girl? You would have never considered that as an option before!"**

Christina's eyes watered as she turned away from the mental projection of her twin sister. Instead, the black background shifted into what looked like a still image of Lyra, smiling brightly at them. Rena recognised it as some sort of mental snapshot of the dutiful maid waking them up.

"_Before hand, I hadn't lost the closest thing we ever had to a mother." _Christina replied in a hollow voice, and the scene distorted. The next image made Rena flinch as she saw a picture depicting legions of villagers glaring down at the image's point of view. She didn't need to think where that memory came from.

"_I might have snapped eventually if I'd remembered this one." _Christina continued with a shaking voice. The picture melted away to oblivion, replaced by a man.

After a slight pause, Christina concluded, _"And what about Kenta, huh? You know how it feels, knowing that the most likely explanation for his disappearance was that he got killed because we _exist."

"**Stop doing this to yourself!" **Rena demanded, horrified at the train of thought Christina was following.

"_I'm doing nothing!" _Christina screamed, tears flowing from her eyes freely and uninhibited. "_I'm sick of it! It's only a matter of time before I lose Tara and Anya! I won't let anyone else die on me!"_

Rena was at a loss for words. How had Christina kept these feelings hidden? Must have picked it up from Rena herself, who'd spent an incredibly long time hiding her presence from her own sister.

Christina sank to her knees, the picture fading to black. "_R-Rena… why does everyone I love just go and die on me?"_

Slowly, the red-headed sister approached her suffering sibling. She couldn't articulate a soothing and calming speech that would highlight the fact that nothing that had happened was her fault, but it was difficult when she was struggling to comprehend this broken Christina. She had changed so much in a few short days…

Rena knelt behind her sister, embracing her from behind, arms wrapped around her shoulders. **"Sorry, Christina… but I'm not a therapist. I can't say a few magic words that'll make you feel better."**

"_I know," _Christina sniffed.

"**But what I **_**do **_**have, is words of truth." **Rena continued. Pointing a hand to the vast emptiness before them, golden text flashed before them.

"**Death is not the end," **Rena whispered, those exact words etching themselves into the darkness. **"Those who depart from this mortal coil will forever live on. In the next plane of existence, as well as our hearts and…"**

Glad that Christina couldn't see the blush formed by the sentence, Rena waved her hand to the side, where a figure flashed into existence before them. Immediately after that, the darkness was immediately replaced by a corridor of their mansion. Christina slowly turned to face the familiar figure who smiled so warmly at them.

"**Our memories." **Rena finished, the words still inscribed in the air with golden, flowing text.

Christina stared at the memory of Lyra for a few long moments, unmoving. Rena hoped she had gotten through to her sister in some way, at least until someone actually qualified to deal with this situation made their presence known.

Eventually, Christina faced the ground again, leaning back onto her sister, who continued to cradle her twin sibling.

"_Rena?"_

"**Yes, Christina?"**

"_Would Lyra hate me if I went on like this?"_

Rena was silent for a moment, pondering.

"**She… would be very disappointed."** Rena eventually answered, stroking her sister's cerulean hair. **"We all would."**

Christina nodded stiffly, her face wet with tears.

"Rena?"

"**Mm?"**

"_We'll protect them, won't we? Tara, Anya… and Reimu and everyone else. We'll make sure nothing happens to them."_

Rena smiled, relieved that her sister had regained sense. **"Of course. No one can beat me, after all."**

"_Except Mima, Marisa, definitely Reimu…" _Christina began to list off and Rena gave her head a warning squeeze.

"_Ow! Okay, I'll shut up…" _Christina sighed, sliding free of Rena's grip to wipe away her tears. _"…Hey, Rena?"_

"**What?"**

"_You're cute when you blush," _Christina teased, and Rena looked surprised, then cursed to herself. That was right. Shared mind, shared emotions, shared memories…

"_Now, I think we've dilly-dallied long enough." _Christina commented, giving Rena a helping hand to her feet. _"I think we left off with me trying to force feed the first person I ever hated."_

* * *

><p>Christina blinked, slowly coming to realise what had happened during her mental argument. Elly had come to help, so she had probably given Mion a chance to fight back. Oops.<p>

"Oh, look who's awake," Mion commented bitterly. "About time, I've always wanted to know what hair tastes like."

"Really?" Christina asked in surprise, her hair reverting to its usual short state. "Why would you want to try?"

Mion blinked, surprised by that statement.

"…You have a serious bipolar disorder, you know that?" Mion said. "And you're schizophrenic, and a stupid bi-"

Any further comments were silenced when Elly placed a warning foot on her chest, the gatekeeper glaring coldly at her.

When Mion seemed sufficiently quiet and complacent, Elly returned her attention to Christina. "What the hell happened with you?"

The blue-haired youkai smiled apologetically. "I… kinda had a breakdown."

Elly stared.

"Don't worry, Rena's sorted me out." Christina reassured the worried gatekeeper. "…Although, maybe she should take over for a while…"

At that moment, Christina's hair fell to the ground, the blue shade turning a crimson colour. Sorting her hair into some form of cloak-like wear, Rena turned her gaze to the downed Mion, who glared back silently.

"Guess we got ourselves a hostage?" Rena asked.

"What're we supposed to do with her?" Elly replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if Artimus took the chance to be rid of her."

"Fuck you too." Mion growled, and was promptly ignored.

The now-long-haired youkai looked thoughtful. "Well, we could always try and extract information from her, if we can't switch for Flandre."

"Oh my god, are you placing me as equal in worth to that stupid, brainless child?" Mion gasped in horror. Again, she was ignored.

Elly still looked unsure. "And how do we get this info?"

"Well, if Artimus' track record is any indication, he probably couldn't give a shit if I gave you his daily schedule," Mion told the girls that acted like she didn't exist. "But I hate you two more than he, so no to that."

The two girls turned their gazes to Mima, who kept Flandre trapped in some barrier she had conjured.

"Think she's good at getting what she wants?" Rena asked aloud.

"Master once told me that Mima was a worthy challenge when it came to getting the most details out of someone."

Rena gave Elly an uneasy look. "They tortured random people to get information? Like what?"

"Trivial stuff," Elly sighed, not a huge fan of this piece of back story either. "Anyway, think we can trust her to get what we need out of her? And only what we need?"

Rena only shrugged.

"I take it I don't get a say in this." Mion sighed to herself.

* * *

><p><strong>Compared to the last few updates, this was comparatively fast. Yay to that, I guess.<strong>

**Don't expect that to last, though. I'm planning writing another story by Christmas, so I'll need to focus on that. Cirnos and time loops will be involved, so hopefully that'll be interesting.**

**Also, for all you KH fans out there, I'm collaborating with shawtyymusume on an AU story here: /7594314/1/The_Nobodies_That_Never_Were. It's OC centric and not exactly serious. It helps that she's a far better writer than I.**


End file.
